What Lies Beneath the Moonlight
by TheLianKing
Summary: Something mysterious has been going on in Retroville. And for once, Jimmy Neutron is not the cause of it..yet. Something that has been causing havoc everywhere it goes. Something that will change Jimmy's life forever. Join the adventure of a lifetime that will ultimately decide the true destiny of our favorite boy genius.
1. Town News

**Thank you all for taking the time to check out my story! Right now I am currently going back and editing some of my old chapters. Including this one. I hope you all enjoy this!**

Chapter 1: Town News

Jimmy Neutron woke up on a fine Saturday morning with a feeling of excitement overwhelming him. Today was the day that he had been waiting for for nearly two weeks. He, Carl, and Sheen were going to Retroland. After weeks of asking, and doing extra chores around the house, he was finally granted permission by his mother to go. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes while letting out a loud yawn. He grabbed the clock sitting by his bedside and looked at it. His blurry vision began to clear up after squinting his eyes at the time.

It was only 8 in the morning. The day before, the three had agreed not to leave until noon. Which meant that he had the whole morning to himself. He looked over to the foot of the bed and saw his old companion resting next to his feet. _Might as well get some breakfast_, Jimmy thought to himself.

"Goddard. Wake mode." Jimmy said out loud. Goddard's eyes opened almost instantly and he wagged his tail at the sight of his master. He hopped over to where Jimmy was laying and licked him on his cheek repeatedly. "Haha good boy!" Jimmy said happily petting him on the head. "C'mon boy. Let's go get some breakfast." Jimmy jumped out of bed.

Before reaching the door, Jimmy stopped and looked down at himself. He still wore the same red T-shirt and jeans he had on the day before. It was nearly 1:30 in the morning by the time he made it back to his room without waking up his parents last night. They would have grounded him for a month if they caught him up so late...again. But it wasn't his fault. The latest invention he had been working on for the past couple of weeks, kept him occupied in the lab until he realized how late it was. It also left him so exhausted that he had forgotten to change out of his clothes before going to sleep. For a moment, he mentally debated whether or not he should change into a new set of clothes. Then he remembered that he was hanging out with Carl and Sheen.

"Naaaah. They won't care." he shrugged carelessly to himself and continued walking out of his room.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard agreed as he followed him out of the room while wagging his tail...

* * *

Downstairs, Judy Neutron was already in the kitchen making breakfast. "Good morning sweetie. Would you like some waffles?" she asked sweetly once Jimmy walked through the door with Goddard at his feet.

"Yes please." Jimmy said politely. He grabbed a glass cup from the cabinet above the sink and then walked to open the refrigerator.

He scanned through the small shelves of food and other beverages until he found the Tropicana orange juice sitting behind the milk carton. Jimmy poured the juice half way and walked on back to the table. He and Goddard both sat side by side.

"So are you going to Retroland today with Carl and Sheen?" Mrs. Neutron asked, adding more frozen waffles in the toaster.

He took a giant gulp of his orange juice before responding. "Yeah, only for a few hours. We should be back before or after five." Jimmy answered.

"Just be careful young man and stay out of trouble. Remember what the owner told you last time. No explosions or trying to increase the speed of the roller coasters with one of your inventions. Otherwise you'll be banned from Retroland for life." Mrs. Neutron warned him sternly.

"Don't worry mom. We'll be in the arcade most of the time. Alot of the rides are still getting repaired after what happened last time..." Jimmy muttered glumly. The memory of the park owner yelling at him at the police station suddenly popped into his mind.

"Well maybe if they knew how to make the roller-coasters go faster, I wouldn't have had to improve the rides myself." he uttered bitterly under his breath.

"Alight then. I don't want any funny business. Just for once have a normal Saturday with your friends." she said as the toaster popped up with the waffles. She put the waffles on a plate and handed it to Jimmy along with the bottle of syrup.

"Thanks mom." he said.

"Be sure to clean up once you finish eating. I'll be back in a little while." Mrs. Neutron said grabbing her purse from the counter.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" Jimmy asked.

"The Farmer's market is back in town. The lines are such a drag the later it gets. It's better to get there as early as possible." she answered as she walked to the front door. "I'll see you in a few hours. Love you." she called out. Jimmy heard the front door close and knew that he was now all by himself.

He drowned his waffles in syrup and started eating. It didn't take long until the plate was left clean and empty. As soon as he finished his breakfast, he slid off the booth and put his plate in the sink.

"Might as well continue working on that new invention before Carl and Sheen get here." Jimmy said glancing up at the duck clock hanging on the wall above the sink. It was barely 8:15 and he was already finished with breakfast. The best way to kill time now, was to resume his work in the lab.

He opened the kitchen door and closed it gently behind him. Goddard trotted beside him as they both crossed the lawn to his clubhouse. Jimmy pulled out a piece of his hair and held it up to the DNA scanner.

"_Welcome Jimmy Neutron_." Vox's voice said only seconds before the trap door opened from underneath the 'welcome' mat and sent them both falling down the large yellow tube until they landed hard on the floor of Jimmy's lab.

"Goddard, remind me to put a mattress under here." Jimmy said dusting off his pants and rubbing his bruised butt.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard responded with a nod.

He sauntered over to his work table and examined his half finished invention. It looked almost identical to his shrink ray, but with different properties of course. Some of it's pieces still lay spread across the table along with a few sketches he had made while building it. Since it was mostly complete, he was able to tell the resemblance it had between his shrink ray. The only way to decipher the two inventions apart, was by the color. This one was all red with the Neutron symbol engraved behind it. He grabbed a screw driver and reviewed the blue prints that had been laid out in front of him. He continued working on it.

Goddard observed quietly as Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows and allowed his mind to focus on the one object in front of him...

* * *

"Almost finished boy. In just a few hours I will have completed the Neutronic Sleep Ray Three Thousand." Jimmy presented his invention proudly.

"It's not that big of an invention, but at least it can be perfect for getting out of any life threatening situations without any casualties." he explained. Goddard looked at the invention in awe.

"Unfortunately, I can't test it on humans yet. I still need to work out a few bugs. Once I can test it out in the Neutron simulator, I can detect if there is any chemical imbalance that may or may not be life threatening to whoever it is used on." Jimmy said with a concerned look on his face.

Goddard let out a low whine.

"Don't worry Goddard. I'll make sure it's safe before using it on anyone." Jimmy assured. "I need to know for sure that it's stabilized."

Goddard nodded and walked off to eat his bowl of lug-nuts. Jimmy sat down at his table and continued reviewing his work.

By the time he was adding his final touches on his new invention, Carl and Sheen were already knocking on his front door. Jimmy turned on his computer screen and was able to see the two boys standing outside waiting for him.

"Jimmy open up!" Sheen yelled pressing his eyes wide against the camera.

He pushed a red button on the remote by his keyboard, and saw his two friends suddenly disappear below the mat. Sheen came crashing down a minute later and lifted himself up from the floor while rubbing the back if his neck.

"Dang dude..." he whined as he rotated his neck back and forth. "Are you ever gonna find a better way to get us down here anytime so-"

His voice was immediately cut off from his last sentence when Carl came hurdling down on top of him a second later.

"Hey Jimmy?" Carl asked once he had safely landed. "Nice cushion by the way. You finally decided to buy one after all." he added gratefully. The red headed boy looked around and frowned. "Where's Sheen?"

"That's not a cushion..." Sheen muffled breathlessly under Carl's beefy arms. His chest crushed against the weight of his slightly hefty friend.

Carl looked down and lifted his head immediately. "Whoops. Sorry Sheen." he apologized sheepishly.

Sheen pushed the rest of Carl's body off of him and gasped desperately for air. He inhaled deeply for ten seconds as the oxygen began to re-enter his lungs. "How..(deep breath)..can..(deep breath)...you still..(inhale)...weigh that much!" he shouted abruptly into Carl's face. "You nearly crushed me to death! I felt like I just came out of a rock slide!"

"Sheen calm down." Jimmy said.

"Don't judge my big boned exterior. I've been working out like I'm supposed to." Carl whined defensively.

"Guys?" Jimmy called out weakly.

"Yeah, I can tell." Sheen scoffed sarcastically.

"You're just jealous that I actually work out and you don't." Carl huffed with his arms crossed.

"Oh yeah you're totally right Carl!" Sheen mocked as he threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Look at me, I'm so jealous of my best friend! I wish _I_ could be heavier than Shamu too!"

"Guys?!"

"You better take that back or else!" Carl warned. He took a step closer to Sheen threateningly.

"What are you gonna do? Sit on me?" the hyperactive boy mocked.

"GUYS!" Jimmy yelled and stepped between his two freinds. "Will the two of you just quit it already!"

"He started it!" they both accused, pointing their index finger at eachother.

"I don't care who started it. I'm ending it!" Jimmy scolded. "Sheen, tell Carl you're sorry."

"What?!" Sheen looked at Jimmy reluctantly. "But he's the one who smashed-"

"- _**I said**_, tell Carl you're sorry." Jimmy cut in firmly.

Sheen slouched his shoulders and looked at Carl, who was smirking at him with his arms crossed.

"Carl...I'm..(gulps)..sorry." Sheen said hesitantly.

Jimmy smiled approvingly and walked back to his work table. Carl and Sheen followed after him.

"Sorry that not even a forklift can carry you..." Sheen whispered under his breath.

"So you ready to go then?" Carl asked.

"Yeah let's go already! I got 500 tokens we can use at the arcade! We can be there for hours." Sheen said happily. He took out a handful of golden tokens out of his front pocket and presented them to Carl and Jimmy proudly.

"Sheen, did you steal those tokens from your little sister again?" Jimmy asked skeptically.

His eyes widened with guilt at the sound of the question. "Maybe..." he said innocently.

Sheen put the tokens back in his pocket before any more questions were asked.

Carl looked down at Jimmy's hand and noticed the object he had been holding."Oooo! What's that Jim?" Carl asked curiously.

"It's just a little something I've been working on. I call it the Neutronic Sleep Ray Three thousand!" Jimmy said, proudly holding up his experiment.

"Cool! Does it shoot liquid acid that'll make your head explode into a million pieces?!" Sheen asked with a maniacal smile on his face. Jimmy rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Sheen in what part of the title made you think that this invention shoots liquid acid?" Jimmy asked. His voice already hinting a bit of irritation.

"Well..I-I..(taps his chin with the tip of his finger) Huh..I don't know." he said finally.

"What does your invention do Jimmy?" Carl asked.

"Well it's somewhat works the same way as my shrink ray. Basically the same design and operation, just used for different circumstances." he explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Sheen asked.

"Well it means that whoever is zapped by it, will automatically make them go unconscious for twelve hours..or so.." Jimmy mumbled the last sentence.

"Sweet! I wanna try it! I wanna try it! I wanna try it!" Sheen yelled trying to grab the invention out of Jimmy's hand. Jimmy pushed his face away.

"Sheen, no! I haven't completed it yet. If it doesn't work the way it's supposed to, you might end up staying asleep for the rest of your life. It's not safe to try it on humans just yet. Unless I know for sure that it's completely safe, it can cause some serious damage to your nervous system." Jimmy explained as he put the invention back on his table.

"Awww lame!" Sheen yelled in disappointment.

Jimmy patted him on the shoulder. "Cheer up Sheen. I promise, once I know that it's 75% stable, I'll test it out on you." he said brightly. Sheen smiled excitedly. "Now c'mon guys. Let's get going. I'll get my hover car."

Jimmy turned his attention to Goddard and smiled. "C'mon boy. Lets go."

The mechanical dog wagged his tail and ran to Jimmy's side obediantly.

The boys nodded and followed Jimmy out of his lab. In less than two minutes, they were out of the club house and walking into Jimmy's backyard.

"By the way Jim, I was meaning to ask you. What happened to your fence? Did a wild bear attack you guys or something?" Sheen asked.

Jimmy stopped walking and looked at him. "What are you talking about Sheen?" he asked in confusion.

"You didn't see?" Sheen asked.

"See what?"

"Look over there. Someone trashed your mom's garden and your fence." Carl said pointing across the yard.

Jimmy turned around and saw what Carl and Sheen were talking about. Part of their wooden fence was busted down leaving a large pile of broken wood everywhere. All the flowers looked as if they have been ripped out along with half of the lawn's grass. Revealing the dirt from within.

"Puking Pluto! Who did this?" Jimmy yelled frantically running to the scene.

"Oh, well, we kind of thought you knew Jimmy." Carl said scratching his head.

"How could I have not noticed this earlier? I was out here last night and just this morning." Jimmy said mostly to himself.

"Are you sure you didn't do it?" Sheen asked suggestively.

"Sheen, if I had been the one to ruin my lawn, don't you think I would have remembered?" Jimmy snapped.

"Well dang I don't know! I'm just trying to help." Sheen said somewhat hurt.

"Goddard! Show me the surveillance camera from outside the clubhouse between the hours of 1 A.M last night and 8 A.M this morning." Jimmy demanded.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard opened up his chest and showed a video feed of the backyard last night.

Everything was quiet and peaceful. A couple of seconds into the video, they were all able to see Jimmy stepping out of his lab and walking slowly back to his house.

"If you were out at that time, how could you have not heard anything?" Carl asked.

"I don't know." Jimmy admitted with a sigh. "I guess I was just so tired that I slept threw it."

The boys went on with watching the video.

"I'm bored!" Sheen declared after a minute of total silence.

"Quiet Sheen! Goddard, fast forward the video." Jimmy said paying close attention to the footage.

Goddard did as he was told. Everything began to fast forward as the hours ticked away at the bottom of the screen.

1:30 a.m, 1:56 a.m, 2:36 a.m...the time continued ticking away and still nothing appeared. Jimmy's eyes remained focused on the screen. _C'mon hurry up already._

Then, all of a sudden, at exactly 3:15 a.m, a large dark creature came crashing into the fence. The boys watched in horror as this creature picked itself back up on its four paws and looked around. They saw as it sniffing around the flowers curiously, before digging them out with its claws.

Because it was dark out, Jimmy couldn't figure out exaclty what it was. _It looks too big to be a bear_. Jimmy wondered. But then again, it made sense. The town lived just a few miles away from the woods so it is common for the citizens of Retroville to have a run in with bears. But this-

"-Pause the camera!" Jimmy yelled immediately. Goddard stopped the film just in time to capture the creature's full form. It was standing on it's hind legs, sniffing at the air. Jimmy looked closely at the picture. It was still slightly blurry. But it definitely wasn't a bear. It's body seemed very slim and looked to be about 14 to 15 feet tall with fur covering it from head to toe. It's ears slightly pointed upwards.

"Whoa.." Sheen uttered in amuzement.

"What is that Jimmy?" Carl asked in fear.

"I don't know." Jimmy said in a whisper. "Whatever it is, it trashed my lawn and may have possibly left some of it's DNA behind. That's all I'll need to track it." Jimmy said darkly.

Before either of them could say anything, they heard the sound of a helicopter fly by them. They looked up at the sky and saw a man poking his head out the window with a megaphone in his hand.

_"Citizens of Retroville. The Mayor has issued an emergency town meeting. Please make your way to Retroville Town Hall immediately. The meeting will begin in 25 minutes. Thank you very much." _The man turned off the megaphone and brought his head back inside. The helicopter flew off again.

The guys looked at eachother.

"We've gotta go to that meeting." Jimmy said nervously.

"What?! What about Retroland?" Sheen exclaimed.

"Sheen the mayor just called for an emergency town meeting. We have to go. I have a feeling it has something to do with whatever we just saw right now." Jimmy said with a scowl. "Everybody into the hover car." he demanded.

Carl and Sheen sighed in disappointment. They walked with Jimmy to his front lawn and made their way into town...

**End of Chapter 1**

**A.N: Let me know how you guys like this story so far. I know it doesn't seem like much right now, but I like to build a little suspense. Anyways, let me know how you like this story so far and feel free to make any suggestions or ask any questions. Like I said before, I am doing a little meintenance on this story and fixing up or changing a few things around. So please have patience! Thanks again! And you may now move on to the next chapter...**


	2. Fear of the Unknown

Chapter 2: Fear of the Unknown

There was only a few a minutes left before the town meeting was supposed to start. The boys had been roaming around the hall, waiting for the mayor to arrive.

"Jimmy do you really think this meeting has something to do with that monster?" Carl asked in fear.

"I don't know Carl," Jimmy sighed. "But if it is, at least maybe the mayor could allow me to find it without any police on my case." Jimmy said.

"What was that thing anyways?" Sheen asked out loud.

"It's hard to tell. But it looks like some kind of mutated animal. It's definitely no bear." Jimmy said looking at Goddard's screen. "Just by how fast it was moving once it left. It basically jumped clean over the fence-"

"Hold up." Sheen called out. "If that thing can easily jump over fences then why didn't it do that in the first place?"

"It looks like he might have been running from something." Jimmy explained.

"How do you know that? Carl asked.

"Because I had Goddard look over the neighborhood security cameras I set up before we got here." Jimmy said. "I found another video of that creature running before it crashed through our fence."

Goddard switched the footage with the one Jimmy was talking about and showed the boys the video of the beast running on the empty space that was behind their houses. Even though the quality of the video was slightly blurry, they could easily spot that it was running frantically while looking over it's shoulder. Which is what caused it to accidentally crash into Jimmy's back yard.

"Whoa. That things fast." Sheen said looking at the screen. Goddard switched back to the other video.

"And look at it when it stands up," Jimmy pointed out. Carl and Sheen look closely at the paused video. "You can see a long tail behind it."

"Jimmy it's kind of hard to see anything. It's so dark." Carl complained. Jimmy thought for a moment.

"Hmmm.. Goddard do you think you can be able to switch the camera to night vision?" Jimmy asked his dog.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard said closing his screen. He made a few noises and opened up the screen again. This time it was night vision.

The boys looked at the screen and gasped for a moment. The first thing that had changed about this creature, was that it's eyes suddenly appeared as a very bright yellow color that illuminated the whole screen. It nearly covered it's entire face.

"Jimmy I gotta be honest with you. That looks like a giant wolf." Sheen suggested.

"We don't know for sure what it is yet Sheen. It must have escaped from a lab somewhere." Jimmy said in a deep thought. That had to be the only explanation.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if this has anything to do with one of your stupid little experiments again! When are you gonna give it a rest Nerdtron?!" came Cindy's voice from the entrance of the hall.

"Shut up Vortex! You don't even know why they called this meeting. No one does." he answered back.

"Whatever the reason is, it's got your name written all over it." Cindy said putting her hands on her hips.

"Well I guess we'll find out won't we?" he spat. Cindy walked passed him. Making sure she shoved against his shoulder as she did. His jaws clenched tightly.

"Can you and Cindy go one day without hating eachother?" Sheen asked.

"She started it!" Jimmy said angrily.

"Everyone settle down! The meeting has now started!" the Mayor's voice rang out as he hit his hammer against the table repeatedly. Everyone turned around to face him.

"Now I'm all sure everyone is wondering why I called this meeting so I'll cut right to the chase. Last night the police station received a phone call from a resident who owns a cabin up in the woods not far from here. Apparently he kept hearing strange noises coming from his yard, so when he went to go investigate, he said he found a large creature eating one of his cats. He also said he tried to shoot at it with his gun, but only scared it off." The mayor said. Everyone one listened intently.

"This thing was last seen heading for Retroville. We also received phone calls after this encounter by other local residents who reported of almost being attacked or whose property was destroyed by it. So I would just like to know if anyone here has heard or seen anything suspicious. It might help lead to this creature's capture."

Jimmy raised his hand. "I have footage of this beast." Jimmy announced "It crashed into my backyard last night." Jimmy walked up to the stage and had Goddard project the video for everyone to see.

"What on God's name is this...abomination?" the mayor said out loud. Murmurs began to run among the crowd.

"I'm not sure sir. Have any labs nearby been testing with genetically mutated creatures?" Jimmy asked.

"Not that I know of Mr. Neutron. But if they did, we would have received a notice of it's disappearance. Does anyone know what on Earth we can do before this thing continues disrupting the peace within our town?" the mayor asked.

"Mr. Mayor, I believe that I may be able to find a way to capture this beast before it does any more harm. If I can just get some clearance from you, I'll be set and ready to get to work." Jimmy said.

"Hmmmm...you are pretty good at this stuff." the mayor pondered. "And you _did _stop that lake monster from terrorizing our people... Alright Neutron, you have yourself a deal! I here by declare that James Isaac Neutron is cleared to track down whatever this beast is and bring it to justice!" the mayor yelled out. "This meeting is now adjourned." the mayor slammed the hammer on to the table and everyone was dismissed.

Jimmy stepped down from the stage and met up with Carl and Sheen.

"What do we do now Jim?" Carl asked as the three of them walked out of the hall together.

"For now, the only thing I can do is search my yard for any clues or DNA. If I can just figure out what it could be, then maybe I can see what it needs to survive and there-for plot where it would be heading next." Jimmy explained. He scratched his head and sighed._ There goes a normal Saturday._

_"_But I thought you said it wasn't an animal?" Sheen asked.

"I did. But the mayor said that no labs nearby have reported any of their experiments missing. So it can't be an experiment."

"Whatever it is, please find it Jimmy." Carl said with worry. "I don't wanna get eaten by any kind of monster. I'm too young to die."

"Don't worry Carl. As soon as I get to the lab, I'll upgrade my security system throughout the entire town. And I'll add some special sensors on our block incase it comes back." Jimmy assured his friend. Carl gave him a weak smile, but was still filled with fear.

The boys walked outside and found Cindy and Libby standing around. Now that Sheen and Libby had started going out a month ago, they were all forced to hang out with Cindy more than they were supposed to.

"So Freakbrain you mind telling me what the hell is that thing you unleashed?" Cindy asked with an annoyed tone.

"For the last time Vortex! It. Wasn't. Me!" he yelled angrily. "Whatever it is, I have to find it before it hurts anyone."

"If it wasn't you, then where do it come from?" Libby asked putting her arms around Sheen.

Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know yet. That's why I have to go home and find out."

"Do you want us to help you?" Sheen asked eagerly.

"No. I'm afraid that I'll have to do this on my own. This can be too dangerous for you guys." Jimmy answered.

"Oh here we go again. Mr. Smarty Pants here thinks that he can do this all by himself without help from anyone." Cindy said crossing her hands.

"Cindy this is too dangerous for you guys. I have to do it on my own." Jimmy explained.

"What's so dangerous about it? We're not even going after the monster yet. All we're doing is searching your yard for clues." Cindy said.

"First of all , there is no 'we' in this Vortex. I'm doing this alone whether you like it or not. If I feel that it's too dangerous for you guys, then you will not help me. It doesn't matter if it's just to get more intel on this thing." Jimmy said with a scowl.

"Your not gonna be able to figure this out on your own Neutron. Just let me help you. It'll be quicker." Cindy pleaded.

"No! I'm doing this on my own because this is too dangerous for any of you. That's my final answer." Jimmy said sternly.

"By the time you even figure out what this thing, it would have destroyed half the town already!" Cindy yelled.

"Well then I better get started." Jimmy said in a low tone. He turns to Carl and Sheen.

"Sorry guys. I guess we can't go to Retroland today. You want me to give you a ride back home?"

"Nah I'm good. I'll just hang out with Libby here." Sheen said winking at Libby who just rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay. What about you Carl?"

"I'll be fine. I'll just stay with Sheen an Libby." Carl answered

Jimmy avoided Cindy's gaze as she did the same.

"I better go. I'll call you guys later." Jimmy said after a long silence. Everyone nodded except for Cindy. He walked back to his hovercar and left. Carl, Sheen, and Libby all looked at eachother.

"Ummm. How about we all go hang out at the Candy Bar? Libby suggested.

"Yeah good idea." Sheen said giving his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"Fine by me." Carl said putting his thumbs up. Everyone looked at Cindy who was still looking down at the floor.

"Lighten up Cindy. If Jimmy doesn't want your help, it must be for a good reason." Libby said.

"That's not why. He just enjoys being that arrogant ass who thinks he can solve everything on his own. After all we have been through, he still doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle whatever he does and I'm sick of it!" she yelled in frustration.

"Don't get mad Vortex. That's just how he is. Plus why would you want to do anything as boring as finding DNA in his backyard. Just come with us to the Candy Bar." Sheen said.

"No I think I'll pass." Cindy said turning around. "I'll see you later Libs." And with that, she was gone. Everyone just shook their heads and rolled their eyes...

Jimmy had been to busy observing every inch of his mother's destroyed garden to hear that Cindy was calling out his name from behind him. She grew annoyed at the fact that he would always ignore her and walked over to where he was.

"Nerdtron are you deaf or something?" She yelled out. Jimmy snapped out of his concentration and looked at her.

"Cindy what are you doing here? I told you that I needed to be alone in order to figure this out." Jimmy said putting his eyes back on the garden.

"Obviously you haven't gotten anywhere in the past hour. All you've been doing is staring at your stupid garden!" Cindy yelled.

"Well maybe if you let me concentrate I can-" he paused. "Wait.. How do _you _know what I've been doing for the last hour?" Jimmy asked skeptically. "Were you spying on me?"

"Oh please! Don't flatter yourself! I kept an eye on you in order to prove that you can't do this on your own!" Cindy yelled.

"Yes I can! Look." Jimmy said pointing to one area of the garden that had been turned inside out. "I found paw prints over there, but that's not enough. I need a hair or spit or something to be able to track it down." Jimmy said.

"Then let me help you find it. There's nothing dangerous about just helping you find clues." Cindy said moving closer to examine the mess.

"It is dangerous. What if it comes back while we're looking? I can't risk it Vortex." Jimmy said.

"What does it matter to you? Since when do you ever care about my safety?" Cindy asked bitterly.

"I always have!" Jimmy spat. He paused for a moment after realizing what he just said. Cindy was also caught off guard by it.

"Uhhhh...what I meant was that...umm.. The safety of my friends matters a lot to me." he said nervously. Cindy's stunned expression suddenly turned into a warm hopeful smile.

"Jimmy did you just admit that you care about my safety?" she asked with a sweeter tone.

He hesitated for a moment before answering. "Well...y-yeah...why wouldn't I?" he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know I guess you never..really..show it." she finished off. "Out of all the things that we have been through together, you think that I can't handle something like this? We've been in worse situations."

Jimmy sighed and looked into her eyes. "Is that why you keep insisting on helping me with this? If I'm not letting you, it's not because I don't think you can handle it. It's because this is something that I didn't create. I know nothing about its habits or what it's capable of doing. I just don't want you to get hurt." He said sincerely. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I just want everyone to be safe."

Cindy looked into his beautiful ocean blue eyes and knew that he was being truly honest with her.

"Well...I guess I'm.. Sorry too Nerdtron. But please at least let me look. I can protect myself. It's just looking. Don't be so paranoid." she said giving him a soft punch in his shoulder. He looked at her and sighed in defeat.

"Ok fine. Just be careful and keep a close eye on anything that may be a clue." Jimmy said. Cindy nodded and they both went on with the search...

Unfortunately after many hours of looking, Jimmy and Cindy finally decided to call it a day. She left him alone so that he may finish cleaning up whatever was left of his yard. Luckily, Goddard's lite speed clean up spared him the endless hours it would have taken him to repair everything.

"Now I need you to be honest with me Jimmy, this doesn't have to do with any of your experiments does it?" Mrs. Neutron asked her son at dinner.

"Mom I already told you that it wasn't me. And even if it was my experiment, it would have destroyed my lab as well. I swear I wasn't apart of it." Jimmy said for the millionth time that day.

"I hope you know what your doing Jimbo. This seems very dangerous son." Mr. Neutron said between bites of his meatloaf.

"To be honest with you dad, I really don't think I know what I'm doing. But I already told the mayor I can track it down and capture it. I can't let the town down." Jimmy said.

"That's a big burden for you to carry Jimmy. I know you want to help sweetie, but this isn't safe. What if you get hurt?" his mother asked in concern.

"Then at least I tried mom. I can't back down now. If I could just get a lead of some kind, I might be able to find it before it hurts anyone." Jimmy explained. It really was too much for him to handle. Especially since this wasn't even his mess to clean up. _Note to self, don't forget to take mini vacation after this_, he said to himself. After 14 years of playing hero, he believed he earned himself some time off from saving the world. Or saving the town for that matter. Maybe travel to some place far. Somewhere he can relax and be worry free for a while. But that will have to happen after he captures this thing of course.

Once he finished his dinner, Jimmy dismissed himself from the table and retreated into his room. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling_. The sooner this was over the better. _He said to himself. Jimmy got up and walked over to his window and looked up at the sky. It was the full moon again. _Gosh the moon looks so beautiful tonight. _The moon would have been the perfect place for him to escape from reality. If it hadn't been for his younger brother Brobot who was currently occupying it as his home. There was no way he was risking running into him again. The whole point of leaving for a while was to escape his problems. Not to find new ones.

Goddard snuggled closer to Jimmy's leg and let out a whine. Jimmy looked down at his pet and smiled at him. He sat down by his computer and put Goddard on his lap. Goddard wagged his tail and licked his master on the cheek._  
_

"Don't worry boy. I'm not leaving yet. I still gotta take care of this first and then I'll be off." Jimmy said scratching the back of Goddard's ear the way he likes it. Goddard let out another whimper.

"You know I'm not leaving forever. I'll just a be gone a few weeks. A month or so. I just need some time off. That's it. I'll be back before you know it." Jimmy assured his dog. Goddard still didn't seem convinced but he didn't press the matter any further.

Jimmy set him back down and walked over to his dresser. He removed his shirt and replaced it with a plain white one. Jimmy didn't bother changing his pants. For some reason he finds it quite comfortable sleeping with his jeans on. Before Jimmy turned off the lights of his room, he looked out the window again. This time, he looked across the street to Cindy's house. The way he always does before going to sleep. He looked at her window and noticed that her lights were still on. Will it made sense that she was still up. It was only 8 p.m on a Saturday night. Normally, Jimmy would have been out doing something by now, but today had been a long day for him and all he really felt like doing was crawling back into bed and never waking up. He took a closer look at her window with his telescope and saw her sitting in bed watching her TV.

Even though he felt like somewhat of a stalker, it soothed him to know that she was safe for the time being. He had to do this every night before going to bed or else he would just be tossing and turning the whole night until he finally checked up on her. After making so many enemies in the past, it was hard for him _not_ to be paranoid about her safety. At any moment, one of his mortal enemies such as professor Calamitous or Eustace Stryche could easily kidnap her or do something worse.. He hated to think about it. He didn't know what he would do if anything ever happened to her because of him. Jimmy really did care about her. A lot more than he thinks. At least to know that she was safe in her room, made him feel better.

Jimmy sighed in relief and turned the lights off from his room. Goddard followed him to bed.

"Goddard don't forget to alert me if you detect any strange activity. You remembered to upgrade the security system right?" Jimmy asked. Goddard nodded his head and barked. Jimmy took this as a yes.

"Good boy." Jimmy said pulling the covers over him. "Goodnight."

It was only eleven thirty at night when Jimmy checked his clock in a haze. Goddard had been barking at him for a long time until he finally decided to through Jimmy off the bed in order to wake him up.

"Ughhhh... Goddard..w-what is it boy?"Jimmy croaked. He lifted himself off the floor while rubbing the throbbing pain on his left temple that occurred shortly after hitting one of the open drawers next to his bed.

Goddard barked at him frantically while opening up his chest to reveal one of the cameras that was set up across the street from a deli market. Jimmy looked closely at the screen and saw a familiar figure breaking through the window of the Deli. It began knocking every chair and table that was in it's way until it found the giant pieces of meat that was hung up deep inside of the kitchen. Since the camera was set up from across the market, Jimmy couldn't see any further. His eyes widened with both excitement and fear.

"Goddard is he still in there?!" Jimmy asked turning on the lights of his room and quickly putting on his shoes. Goddard nodded.

"This is perfect. If we make it there fast, we can catch him now. Let's go boy!" Jimmy yelled out running out the door. Goddard chased after his master...

**End of Chapter 2**

**I hope everyone is enjoying this so far. Let's see if Jimmy will manage to catch this beast before it causes anymore damage. Read and review! Please.**


	3. Encounter

Chapter 3: Encounter

Jimmy travelled at light speed with his hover car until he finally made it to his destination in less than ten minutes. He parked the hover car only a couple yards away from the market. Jimmy shut it off and grabbed his freeze ray from one of the compartments. Jimmy jumped out and hid behind a streetlight nearby. Goddard followed him and looked across the street. Everything was silent. The only thing Jimmy could hear was the sound of crickets out in the distance. And the sound of his heart pounding against his chest. Jimmy closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Get yourself together boy genius." Jimmy said to himself in a whisper. "You've dealt with way worse than this. You can handle this..." No matter what he told himself, it wasn't enough to make him feel better. Something about this situation made him feel very uneasy. He couldn't help but feel that something terrible was about to happen. The first thing that flashed into his mind was Cindy. If this thing kills him, there would be no way he can protect her. Even if she says she can take care of herself, he still felt responsible for her safety.

"Do this for Cindy.." Jimmy said to himself. "Keep her safe." This seemed to boost his confidence a little. But not enough to erase his fear.

"Goddard, do you detect any movement?" Jimmy whispered to his dog. Goddard shook his head. "Okay. Let's move."

Jimmy clutched his freeze ray against his chest, prepared to use at any moment. Slowly, Jimmy began to crouch below mailboxes and street signs until he was directly across the street. The cold wind hurt his throat but it couldn't keep him from breathing rapidly through his mouth.

His back was against a news paper stand. He looked at his freeze ray and slowly turned around to look at what was behind him. There was broken glass all over the street. A few chairs lay in every direction along with tables that were missing some if it's legs.

He laid low and looked at the destroyed display window._ I hope Mr. Jenkins had insurance on this place. _Jimmy saw no movement within the market. He looked over to his companion.

"Goddard defense mode." Goddard barked in confirmation.

Jimmy stood up and walked across the street. The deli market wasn't that big of a place. There was not really much left of it. The beast had destroyed most of the furniture with its claws and ate away at anything that was on the display counter. The entire place was wrecked. Each step that Jimmy took cause the broken glass to crackle between his shoes.

He did his best to remain as quiet as possible. The place was still pretty dark. The only source of light came from the flickering street lamp outside. It was very hard to see anything beyond the cash register. He had a flash light installed in his watch but thought it would be best to remain hidden. No noise so far. Jimmy made his way through the revolving door that led to the kitchen. His eyes adjusted to the pitch blackness and right away saw the full damage that this thing has done. The refrigerator and the stove had been torn apart and knocked all over the floor. Bringing in the odor of raw meat and gasoline. Jimmy pinched his nose shut and continued searching. Jimmy felt a shiver go down his spine. This thing had the power to destroy a refrigerator. Which made him wonder, how strong was it?

It was at that moment that Jimmy noticed a giant hole on the wall next to what used to be the freezer. The hole could have been no more than 15 feet high. Jimmy gulped as he walked through the hole and was immediately taken to the ally outside. It must have broke through the wall to escape.

"Goddard!" Jimmy called out. His dog came running at his side. "I think its gone. Come help me find some DNA samples." Jimmy said walking back through the hole and into the market. They walked to the front of the deli and began searching. Jimmy scanned the display counter, but found nothing. He remained in a deep thought. Even though it was just him and Goddard, he couldnt help shake this feeling that he was being watched. He looked around. The only thing he saw was Goddard, who was across the room from him, scanning the clawed up walls for any blood,hair, or saliva.

"Come over here for a second boy." Jimmy whispered to Goddard. He stopped what he was doing and ran over to Jimmy.

"You had cameras set up on one of the billboards in front of the ally right?" Jimmy asked.

"Bark! Bark!" he answered.

"Show me the footage between the time it broke in here until now." Jimmy demanded.

Goddard nodded and replayed the footage. All he could see was the empty ally across the street. Nothing else seemed to have been happening whatsoever. Goddard fast forward through the entire footage. Nothing came in or out of the ally. Jimmy had been so focused on the screen, that he didn't notice that something had been staring at them from the kitchen door window. It observed him the entire time. Not making a single movement.

"This doesn't make sense." Jimmy said out loud. "If it left already we would have seen it exiting the ally through here." he said pointing at the screen. "There's no where else it could have gone. The other way is a dead end-"he suddenly heard a pile of dishes crash and shatter into the floor. Both Goddard and Jimmy jumped in fright and bolted behind the counter for cover. Silence filled the room for a minute. Then he heard something digging through the broken glass.

Jimmy looked over at Goddard nervously. His entire body was shaking now. He held up the freeze ray in front of him and pointed it towards the door. He and Goddard walked slowly to the kitchen. Something was inside. He could hear it on the other side. Before opening the door, Jimmy peered through the window and there it was. Directly across from him was a large shadow that had his back turned to him. It was entirely covered with thick layers of black fur. It was hard to make out the rest of his features since he couldn't see it's face. This was his monster. He had to move fast. The creature was sitting down on the floor, biting open a can of meat. Jimmy's hands trembled as he walked through the revolving door. He kept the freeze ray pointing at it. The second the door made a squeak, the creature's ears perked up and he spit out the can that was in it's mouth. Jimmy gulped. It stood up on its four paws and turned around to face Jimmy.

Standing in front of Jimmy with its luminescent yellow eyes, was a giant black grey wolf. Jimmy's jaws dropped. It was humongous. He flashed his blood stained teeth at Jimmy with a defensive growl. Jimmy couldn't find it in himself to react in any way. It looked way taller than in the video. He stood at almost a good 15 feet. The wolf looked mutated. It's entire uppers body was covered in pure muscle. He began to advance towards Jimmy.

He remained frozen to where he stood. Goddard barked at Jimmy to move and was unsuccessful. Before he could stop it, the creature leaped and tackled Jimmy down. Knocking the freeze ray out of his hands. The hit seemed to knock the air out of him. Jimmy crashed to the floor and gasped for air, feeling as though he had been hit by a truck. The beast pinned him down with his body weight. It growled at him angrily. Jimmy could smell the raw meat and dry blood on its breath. He pressed his face against the floor in order to avoid it's sharp teeth. Jimmy desperately looked for the freeze ray in the darkness. The creature let out a loud roar at Jimmy, causing him to go deaf from his left ear. It raised it's right paw at Jimmy. He could see it's sharp claws extend out. He closed his eyes in fear.

Before the beast could claw Jimmy to death, Goddard, who has been knocked to the side, blasted the wolf with his laser. The creature roared in pain. Part of his shoulder blade got burned. He released Jimmy and walked over to Goddard, prepared to attack. Jimmy lifted himself up and looked around desperately for his freeze ray. He spread his hands around the mess on the floor in an attempt to find it. He looked over at Goddard.

His companion was backing against the wall as the creature moved closer to him, both growling at eachother. Jimmy's body was trembling he looked around frantically until he saw the freeze ray under the dishwasher. He grabbed it quickly and pointed it towards Goddard's direction. The creature stood up on it's hind legs. The way he stood up looked almost human-like.

Jimmy fired his freeze ray at it. The impact knocked over the beast onto its back. He stood up and growled to Jimmy. It tried getting up right away, but then noticed that part of it's arm was frozen solid. The beast let out another roar of anger. Jimmy shot at it numerous times before it finally collapsed in a block of ice.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks boy. You okay?" Jimmy asked his dog as he walked towards the frozen wolf.

"Bark!Bark!" They both looked at the creature that trapped within the ice. They were both stunned for a few minutes until Jimmy finally spoke up.

"It's a..wolf.."Jimmy said scratching his head. He looked closely at it. "We have to get it back to the lab so I can find out what kind of chemicals it's been infected with." he said to Goddard.

"Bark?"

"No not yet boy. As soon as I can figure out what it is, then I'll let the mayor know I caught it. For now, we keep this a secret. Okay?" Jimmy said to Goddard.

"Bark!"

"Good. Now let's see how we can get this out of here before anyone shows up." Jimmy said trying to lift up the giant block of ice. It was not use. He turned to Goddard.

"Go get the hyper cube boy. I left it in the hover car. Maybe we can suck him into it and get him to the lab without anyone noticing."

Goddard nodded obediently and ran off. Jimmy turned back to the beast and observed it. He couldn't help but wonder where it came from and for how long it has been loose._ At least now no one will get hurt._ Jimmy said to himself. That was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Goddard returned a few momenta later with Jimmy's hyper cube.

"Thanks boy." Jimmy said with a smile. He faced the cube over to the beast and pushed a small red button in the front. A small wormhole automatically appeared in front of them and sucked the entire block of ice inside. Jimmy sighed and and gave Goddard a cheerful smile.

"We did it buddy. We caught the monster...Looks like I'll be going on that vacation a little earlier than I thought." Jimmy said brightly. Goddard licked Jimmy's shoes and wagged his tail triumphantly. He looked around.

"We should go.." he said putting the hyper cube safely in his pocket. They found their way out and headed back to the hover car. Jimmy had Goddard erase all the footage incase anyone wanted to see what happened. For now, he wanted to keep this a secret. This has been the first time he had ever encountered a mutated beast that wasn't his own creation. He wanted to learn as much as he can from this thing as possible.

As he drive over the street, he couldn't help but smile at the beautiful night. It was finally over. He can relax for now knowing that nobody else would be safe. Nothing can possibly go wrong now...

**E****nd of Chapter 3**

**Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry if this chapter is too short. Next chapter will be posted soon. Keep on supporting me! It gives me the motivation that I need sometimes to keep going. It gets a little complicated at times. **


	4. The Fault in Our Lies

Chapter 4: The Fault in our Lies

The TV had been off for quite some time now, but Cindy Vortex still couldn't find it in herself to fall asleep. It was only midnight on a Saturday. Normally, she would be out with her bestfriend Libby the way any normal girl her age would. But ever since this 'beast' has been running around town causing all the damage that Jimmy usually does, the mayor decided it would be best to issue a city-wide curfew. No one but Jimmy Neutron was allowed to be out after 9 p.m. She shuffled around her bed a few more times until she was facing her ceiling.

Just the thought of his name made her insides tingle. Especially now that he had admitted to her that he cared about her safety. It filled her with hope and also with dread. She was afraid that even though he confessed that her safety was a priority of his, it still didn't mean that he was inlove with her. She didn't want to keep giving herself false hope incase her biggest fear was correct. There was no way she would be able to handle the heartache. Even though they have been bickering since they were kids and even now that they had barely become teenagers, she had hoped that Jimmy would catch on to what she was trying to tell him. Something that couldn't be said in words. But as usual, the boy genius was too clueless to notice. Cindy thought that it would be easier now that Betty Quinlan decided to take herself out of the picture, but only to realize that it was just as difficult as before.

Once the gang entered middle school, Jimmy had started going through his little changes. Though he was still a nerd, his voice had begun to grow deeper as puberty continued to take it's toll on him. His height also began to increase. He also started working out shortly after they started school which only made his body fit so well with his new height and new voice. She didn't mind these changes at all. They made him more attractive than he already was. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only girl who noticed this change in him. Almost everyone in their old 5th grade class have tried on several occasions to ask him out. Most of the time he would turn them down. That was unless he found them attractive of course. There has been one too many times where Cindy almost lost her mind after seeing him on romantic dates at the Candy Bar. She would be a total wreck until he finally lost interest in the girl and broke it off. The longest relationship Jimmy has been in was only two months. It would be a huge relief to Cindy and it also made her wonder if he had issues with commitment or it just took him that long to discover that the girl he was with was just as oblivious to her surroundings as he was. Either way, she was grateful it was over.

Then there was his lab. That was and still continues to be the biggest distraction of them all. Cindy loved how passionate he was with science. As much as she tried not to care about what he invents, she could never help but feel proud of him. She also loved that focused look he makes when trying to solve a problem. She loved everything about him. The only problem was that he always seemed to choose his lab over anything else. And it always gave her that doubt if he even noticed her at all. It has been like that for so many years. And it has come to the point where she wants answers now. As much as she wanted to know how he felt about her, she knew he would never tell her. And she sure as hell wasn't going to ask him. She couldn't afford to loose their friendship right now. Or whatever it was that they had.

"I can't do this." Cindy said to herself. She threw the covers off her body and got up. She began pacing around her room without even bothering to turn the lights on. She knew she wasn't gonna sleep anytime soon. The 14 year old turned the TV back on and sat on her bed. Hoping that maybe it would get her sleepy.

It was then that she heard a noise coming from outside. She turned the volume down with her remote and listened. It sounded like a motor. Cindy peeked through her window to see what it was. Across the street, she could see Jimmy landing his hover car on his front lawn. He got out with Goddard. Cindy kneeled down and hoped that they wouldn't see her. They both looked exhausted, but with a triumphant smile. She looked at the hover car and saw nothing else. She saw no sign of a captured monster. _So why do they seem happy?_ Her question was answered as soon as she saw Jimmy reach into his pocket and took out his hyper cube. He looked inside of it carefully before putting it safely back inside. _  
_

Jimmy took a quick glance around the neighborhood as if he was making sure that no one was watching him. When he felt that no one was around, he turned to Goddard and they both walked to his clubhouse. Cindy watched them with interest until they were finally inside. She slipped onto the floor and began to think.

_"Could Neutron have captured it already? And if he did then why didn't he tell the authorities? Why didn't he call me?_" All these questions and conclusions began to pile up in her head. She had to know what was going on. She looked at her desktop where her phone sat in plain sight. Cindy got up and picked up her phone. She had Jimmy on speed dial. Actually, Libby was the one who did it, but it didn't really bother her.

"I'll give Neutron a chance to tell me the truth." Cindy said out loud as the phone started ringing. She kept her eyes on the house across the street.

Jimmy had barley walked out of his clubhouse when he felt his phone vibrating from his back pocket. Who would be calling him at this time? He looked at the phone and saw Cindy's name and picture on his screen. He turned to her house and saw no lights or any sign of life coming from the inside. He picked it up anyways.

"Hello?" Jimmy said when he answered.

"Hey Neutron." came Cindy's voice on the other line. She remained hidden within the darkness of her room. Carefully peaking through the corner of her window. She knew that he would be trying to see if she was watching.

"Any reason why you're calling me so late at night?" he asked.

"Ohh..umm well.. I just wanted to know how the search was going. You _are_ the only one who is allowed to be out at night. So I thought maybe you might have gotten a lead or something." she replied. He looked at her window carefully. She lay low and hoped that he didn't spot her. He then shrugged off that feeling after not seeing any sign of her.

"Well I was gonna..umm do that tomorrow." he lied. "It's kind of late right now. And Goddard hasn't notified me yet of any suspicious activity." Jimmy said.

Goddard walked to the entrance of the clubhouse and saw Jimmy standing outside on the phone.

"So what are you doing right now?" Cindy asked with a high pitched tone.

"I was just in my room-"

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard said. Jimmy turned to his dog and nodded.

"Look it's late Cindy. I have to go back to sleep. I'll call yah tomorrow." Jimmy said urgently. Cindy could see him still standing outside of the clubhouse facing the door.

"Oh I'm sorry. Were you '_sleeping'?" _she asked sarcastically. Jimmy was too distracted to notice her attitude.

"Yeah. And I'm very tired. I'll call you in the morning. Goodnight." he said hanging up before she could respond. Jimmy put the phone back in his pocket and ran back inside the clubhouse. Cindy slammed the phone back onto her desk.

"That son of a bitch!" she yelled angrily. "How dare he lie to me!"

She began pacing around her room again._ How could he lie to me?! I could care less if it was for my safety! I deserve to know what he's up to! _She picked up the phone again and dialed his number. The phone rang twice before being sent to voicemail.

"Uggggghhhh! Asshole!" she yelled.

Jimmy went down the stairwell that led down to his lab.

"How's it doing boy?" Jimmy asked putting his lab coat on. He walked over to his lab station where the hyper cube was.

Goddard opened up his chest.

"It's_ thawing out master. Completion will be in thirty two minutes" _

Jimmy rubbed his chin as he read Goddard's response. "We need to find somewhere we can hold him. Somewhere he can't break free."

Goddard wrote his response on the screen.

"What about that cage you built for Sheen's pet Chocktow?" Goddard asked.

Jimmy thought about it and flashed his dog a smile. "Good idea boy. If the cell is strong enough to hold a Chocktow, then maybe it can hold this thing."

Goddard wagged his tail happily. "Wow. Looks like Sheen's actions did turn out to be something resourceful." Jimmy said rolling his eyes. He remembers having to chase after that Chocktow around town after Sheen decided to bring it with him from Zeenu.

Jimmy walked over to the wall next to his computer. He entered a code on the keyboard and hit the blue button. The wall began to lift itself up in order to reveal a giant room hidden on the other side. Both Jimmy and Goddard walked inside. Half of the room was taken up by a giant cage cell made of steel alloy bars. The other half of the room had a keyboard that monitored every inch of the room along with a lever on the side that locked and unlocked the door of the cage. Jimmy pulled the lever back and opened the door. He walked inside and looked around.

"Hmm..this should be enough to hold it for a few days."Jimmy confirmed. "Let's get it in here. And call Carl and Sheen. They would love to see this." Jimmy said walking back into his lab and grabbed the hyper cube. Goddard stopped him.

_"What happened to keeping it a secret?"_ Goddard's screen said.

"I tell Carl and Sheen everything. Besides, Carl would be relieved if he knew that the beast was captured." Jimmy answered.

_"And what about Cindy? Doesn't she deserve to know? After all, she was the one who wanted to help you find the creature the most."_

Jimmy read Goddard's response and sighed nervously. He didn't know what to say.

"I-I..didn't want her to know yet. If she finds out that I'm keeping it, she'll let the authorities know." Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll tell her after I get sufficient information about it."

Goddard shook his head in disapproval.

"Okay I'll call her back right now and tell her. If she rats us out it'll be your fault." Jimmy said wagging his finger at Goddard. "At least let me tell the guys to come check it out first."

Jimmy pulled out his phone and dialed Sheen's number. As the phone started to ring, Jimmy walked into the cage and set the hyper cube on the floor.

"Yo Jimmy what's up? Its kind of late? You get arrested or something?" came Sheen's hyper active voice.

"No Sheen. If I got arrested then they would have confescated my phone and you wouldn't have been the first person I call."Jmmy said already feeling annoyed.

"Alright dang!. Why you calling me for?"

"I need you and Carl to get over here to my lab. I have something here that'll take your breath away." Jimmy said brightly.

"Uhh Jimmy? Incase you didn't know, we have a curfew so we're not allowed to go anywhere right now." Sheen said.

"Don't worry about that. I caught the monster already. It's in my lab right now."

"What?! You caught it already!Why didn't you say that! I'll grab Carl and we'll be right there!" Sheen yelled before hanging up the phone. Jimmy put the phone away and looked down at the hyper cube. He could see the block of ice melting away inside.

He pushed the button on the hyper cube again, which sent the ice flying out directly in front of Jimmy. Half of it had already melted away. The beast was struggling inside of it. Angrily trying to break through the ice. He walked out of the cage and shut the door behind him. Even though it was still trapped within the ice, he continued to violently break free. In less than hour, the ice will have melted away and he would be free once more. Jimmy just hoped that these bars would be enough to keep it locked up.

Carl and Sheen were knocking in Jimmy's door almost 15 minutes later.

"Jimmy we're here open up!" Sheen yelled banging on the door. Jimmy opened up the trap door. As usual, Carl landed first and then Sheen crashed right on top of him.

"Guys keep it down! My parents are sleeping inside!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Sorry." the boys said in unison.

"So where's the monster Jim?!" Sheen asked excitedly.

"Right this way gentlemen." Jimmy said ushering them towards the wall.

"Jimmy? The monster's not gonna jump out and scare me r-right?" Carl whimpered.

"It's okay. It's locked up inside of a cage made up of steel alloy. You have nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to harm you anymore." Jimmy assured. He typed in the code on the wall. The wall opened up once more and they saw the room in which the beast was held in. It stared at the boys with it's yellow eyes as they stared back. The block of ice that had covered it's face has now melted and only revealing a large wet damp all over its black fur.

"Wow! It is a wolf Jimmy! Haha I was right!" Sheen said happily. He ran over to the cage to look closely at the wolf. It was then that the wolf finally broke through the last piece of ice that surrounded it's hind legs. He jumped at Sheen. Jimmy right away pulled Sheen away just in time before the wolf slammed against the metal bars.

"Sheen be careful! Another second and it could have ripped your head off!" Jimmy scolded. "I didn't even know if this cage would be strong enough to hold him!"

The boys looked at the cage. The wolf would lunge at them every few seconds but would be prevented from attacking by the bars between him and them. He roared every now and then. Attempting to break out of the cage until it grew frustrated.

"Hey! Isn't this the cage that you kept my Chocktow in?" Sheen asked looking around.

"Oh you mean the one that _I_ had to chase after around town even after I specifically told you not to bring it with you? Is that the Chocktow you're talking about Sheen?" Jimmy asked angrily.

Sheen gave Jimmy an awkward embarrassed smile. "Uh..yeah.."

"To answer your question. Yes, it is the same cage."

"What are you gonna do with it now Jim?" Carl asked.

"I'm just gonna keep it in the lab for a couple of days. This is the first time I come into contact with a mutated wolf like this. I just want to get some blood samples and see what kind of chemicals it has running through it's blood stream." Jimmy explained.

"Is that safe?" Sheen asked.

"Yeah I mean didn't the mayor tell you to capture it an turn it in?" Carl added.

"I know what the mayor said. I'm not keeping it as a pet or anything. I'm just gonna study it for a couple of days and then I'll let the mayor know that I have captured it. Simple as that. And no one gets hurt." Jimmy assured.

"Whatever you say dude."

"I'm fine as long is doesn't try to eat me." Carl said.

"No need to worry about it harming you in any way Carl. It's safely locked away in this cage." Jimmy said patting Carl's back.

"Well while this thing is here, we might as well give him a name. How about Ultra Wolf? Or The Wolfinator! Oh! Oh! Oh! How about Mr.-"

"Sheen! We're not naming this thing! It's not a pet it's a monster." Jimmy said with a frown.

"Okay fine!" Sheen said looking down at the floor.

Goddard ran over to Jimmy and gave him a low growl. Jimmy looked at his dog in confusion.

"What? What is it boy?" he asked.

Goddard's screen opened up.

_"You know what I'm talking about. Carl and Sheen have seen the wolf already master. Now it's someone else's turn."_

Jimmy groaned. "Okay fine! I'll call her right now. At least let me take out some blood samples just incase anything happens." Jimmy said.

Goddard closed his chest again and nodded.

"Guys come with me into the the house really quick. I need some syringes from my room in order to take out the blood." Jimmy said leading the boys out of the room. He looked back at the wolf and noticed him just sitting quietly in the middle of the cage with a strange look on it's face. As if though it knew something that Jimmy didn't. He quickly checked the lock on the door to make sure it was secure. It didn't even try to attack him. It only watched from where it sat. Jimmy walked back out and followed his friends outside...

"Girl you better have a good reason for making me sneak out so late." Libby said with a grouchy tone. "My parents will kill me if they found out I left."

Both girls sat on Cindy's bed. She had called her shortly after Jimmy rudely cut her off.

"Libby I told you it was important. Neutron is hiding something in his lab!" Cindy exclaimed. Libby gave her an irritated look.

"What?"

"Is that why you called me over here? Just so we can spy on your boyfriend?!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Cindy yelled which only caused Libby to roll her eyes again.

"Whatever. I'm out." Libby said getting up and walking towards the door.

"Libby wait I know Jimmy is hiding something from me!" Cindy called out.

"He's always hiding something from you." Libby said stopping at the door.

"Yes. But he would never lie to me about it. He would gloat about whatever it was that he was hiding and tell me that he won't let me find out what it is. But this time he tried to cover it up." Cindy explained.

"How do you know he was trying to cover it up?" Libby asked.

"Because I saw him getting off his hover car a half hour ago and the whole time he was outside he kept looking around to make sure no one was watching him. So I called him to see what he was up to and that asshole said he was in bed going to sleep, then he rudely hung up on me and ran into his clubhouse. I tried calling him again and he sent me to voicemail." Cindy said throwing her pillow on the floor angrily. Libby took in this information and sat back down.

"Okay... We can't jump to conclusions yet Cin. You know how secretive he is about certain things. It might not even be anything." Libby assured.

"Carl and Sheen are over there right now." Cindy added.

"Wait..what? Like right now?" Libby asked in surprise.

"Yes. They got there about ten minutes ago. Still think it isn't anything?" Cindy's asked. "You know Neutron has got to be up to something if Carl and Sheen are involved." she said getting up and looking out the window.

"Well... I don't know girl. What do you want to do about it anyways? It's not like you can just walk up to Jimmy's house and ask what he's up to."

"They're leaving!" Cindy shrieked. Libby got up and checked. Across the street they saw the boys walking out of the clubhouse without even bothering to close the door and Libby watched as they made their way into Jimmy's house.

"We have to go now!" Cindy said putting on her shoes.

"Umm, excuse me? What do you mean 'we have to go'?" Libby asked puting her hands on her hips.

"Look!" Cindy said pointing at the clubhouse while struggling to put on her right shoe. "Neutron's clubhouse is wide open. If we leave now, we can see what those dorks are hiding." Cindy said ambitiously.

"And why exactly are we doing that?"Libby asked raising her eyebrow.

Cindy sighed. "Now's not the time for questions Libby! Just follow me." the blonde girl demanded as she ran out the front door.

"This should be interesting." Libby said to herself as she walked out of the room...

Cindy was careful not to be seen as she ran across the street to Jimmy's front lawn. She turned over to Libby who was standing on the side walk across the street.

"Hurry up Libs! Nerdtron could be back any minute." Cindy whispered loud enough for only Libby to hear. She looked both ways and sped across the street to where Cindy was.

"And what exactly is it that you are trying to do?" Libby asked in a hushed tone as they made their way into the backyard.

"We're just gonna see what Neutron is hiding inside his lab. I just need to know what Jimmy had to lie to me about." Cindy answered.

They were at the front door by now. Cindy looked over to his house and saw that the lights of his room were on.

"And what happens of we get caught? Wouldn't that look a little too desperate on your behalf?" Libby asked.

"We won't get caught. They're in Jimmy's room right now. We're just gonna take a quick peak and get out of here."

Libby shook her head in disbelief. "Alright whatever you say girl."

They opened the door and walked inside. Since Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen would be back soon, they left every door that led to the lab open. Completely unaware that Cindy and Libby would use this as an opportunity to sneak into his lab. It didn't take the girls that long to find the stairwell that led down to the main area.

"Whoa! Look at this place!" Libby said sounding quiet astonished. She walked around and checked out his computer.

"Focus Libby! We don't have much time. Neutron, Carl, and Sheen could be back any minute. Just find something that looks like Jimmy would be hiding it from me." Cindy said rummaging through his box of inventions.

"Uh no offense girl, but everything in here looks like something he would be hiding from you." Libby replied.

Cindy stopped her search and gave her friend a look. "Okay fine. I'll start searching." Libby said finally.

It was that moment that Libby noticed the open wall next to Jimmy's computer.

"Hey? What's this?" she said walking into the next room. Cindy stopped what she was doing again and walked to where Libby was. For a second, both of girls froze in fear. In front of them, was the cage in which the werewolf was locked in. It looked at them in confusion. As thought it was expecting someone else. Cindy moved closer to it and Libby pulled her back.

"Are you crazy! What if it attacks you!" Libby exclaimed.

"Relax Libby. It's in a cage. It can't do anything to us." Cindy said moving Libby's hand away from her. She walked to the entrance of the cage. The wolf remained where he sat and watched Cindy's every move.

"Do you think that's the monster everyone has been talking about?" Libby asked taking a few steps closer. The wolf turned to her as well.

"It sure as hell looks like it." Cindy said putting her hands on the bars. "I can't believe Neutron would lie to me like this. He never lies." Cindy said slightly hurt. If he had lied about this, then does that mean he was lying to her earlier when he said he cared about her? That hollow feeling began to sink into her stomach as she came to the conclusion that he was.

"Don't do this to yourself Cindy. If he was lying to you Cindy, it had to be for a good reason. You know how honest he is. Jimmy's not that kind of person." Libby said patting Cindy's shoulder from behind her. Cindy turned around to Libby. Turningher back to the beast. She leaned on the metal bars and sighed.

"You're right Libby.. It's just that.. I helped Neutron search for any kind of DNA it might have left behind in his yard. So I thought that I would have been the first person he called. At least to let me know." Cindy explained burring her hands in her face.

"I know how you feel right now. But you have to remember that Jimmy is a guy. They don't know what girls are thinking or what we expect them to do. I'm sure if he knew how you felt, then he would have done things different. He may be a genius, but you know as well as I do that he is just as clueless as Sheen when it comes to girls." Libby assured.

"Well that's true. Thanks Libs." Cindy said with a smile.

"Wolf." Libby gasped.

"Huh?"

"Wolf!" Libby shrieked pulling Cindy away from the cage. In less than a second the wolf had crashed into the bar that Cindy had been leaning on in an attempt to grab her. He let out a roar. The girls jumped back in fright, causing Cindy to trip over and accidentally pushed the lever back with her arm. The door unlocked automatically and was left ajar.

"Oooppss.."Cindy said looking back at Libby nervously. They both stepped back in fear as the wolf walked out of cage with a growl..

"So remind me again why we are calling Cindy about this?" Sheen asked holding a box of syringes.

The boys were standing in Jimmy's kitchen while he grabbed his home phone and dialed Cindy's number.

"Because she helped me look for clues earlier. So she deserves to know." Jimmy said patiently waiting for the phone to ring.

"But what if she decides to tell the mayor that your hiding the beast in your lab and have it taken away from you?" Carl asked.

"Look I trust Cindy. And she trusts me. So if I'm honest with her, then she won't go and tell anyone about this. The sooner she knows, the better." the phone went to voicemail. Jimmy hung up.

"No answer. I'll try calling her again in the lab." Jimmy said walking out the door with his two friends behind him.

"So what are you gonna do with the blood Jimmy?" Carl asked when they were half way across the yard.

"Well-"Jimmy was suddenly interrupted by the sound of screams ringing out of his lab followed by a roar.

The boys shared a terrified glance and ran as fast they could inside the lab. Jimmy dropped the box of syringes onto the floor and ran into the room along with Carl and Sheen. They all stopped at the entrance when they saw the wolf out of it's cage and had Cindy and Libby cornered between the wall and the cage.

"Jimmy help!" Cindy shrieked. The wolf advanced closer to them knowing that he had the upper hand.

"I'll save you Libby!" Sheen yelled. Jimmy pulled his friend back.

"Sheen no!( turns to the girls) Guys split up! Cindy you move against the cage. Libby move against the wall!" Jimmy ordered. The wolf lunged at them.

"Now!" Jimmy yelled in that same second.

The girls right away did as they were told and instead of attacking the girls the wolf crashed up against the wall that was behind them. The girls ran towards the entrance as fast as they could. The wolf shook his head and recovered from the hit. He locked his eyes on Cindy who wasn't that far ahead. He ran as fast as he could and jumped at her. He extended his paws out in front of her which caused her to fall over.

She got up right away before he can tackle her. She moved towards the wall again. Trying to move around it but it was useless. He wasn't letting her go anywhere.

"J-Jimmy!" Cindy yelled frantically.

Without thinking about what he was doing, Jimmy ran towards the wolf and flung himself on top of the wolf's shoulders.

"Get away from her!" Jimmy yelled at the same time. The wolf growled angrily as he tried to through Jimmy off of him.

"Go! Go!" Jimmy yelled to Cindy as he struggled to stay on top of the wolf.

"But Neutron-"

"Just go!" he yelled.

Cindy ran towards the entrance where Carl, Sheen, and Libby were. The wolf spun around and did everything it could to knock Jimmy over. In less than a minute, the wolf finally decided to through it's back up against the wall. They heard a large crack as it did. Jimmy was hit hard against the impact. When the wolf removed himself from the wall, Jimmy slumped off his shoulders and landed on the floor. Too weak to get up.

He looked over at Jimmy's unconscious body and then turned to the children with what looked like a smirk on it's face. The kids backed away slowly in fear. Not knowing what to do. Jimmy lifted his head up and looked around.

Everything seemed blurry to him. His head was pounding and he was struggling to get some air into his lungs. He looked at a tall dark figure a few feet from him until his vision finally came back. He saw the wolf making it's way towards his friends and Cindy.

"_Cindy_!" was the name that popped into his head when he saw the wolf get ready to attack. Forgetting about the possible broken ribs he might have had, Jimmy got up and ran towards the keyboard on the other side of the room. He desperately extended his hand out and pushed the red button next to the lever. The wall closed immediately, leaving the children outside and leaving Jimmy locked inside the room with the now extremely furious wolf...

**End of Chapter 4**

**Such a heated chapter. Jimmy just basically sacrificed himself to save Cindy. Hope you guys enjoy it and stay tuned. Next chapter will be up soon. And things are about to get very interesting..**


	5. Bitten

Chapter 5: Bitten

The fear that began creeping up within him made it difficult for Jimmy to process any solution through his mind. He had been so distracted trying to save Cindy, that he didn't conceive a plan on how to save himself. This has been the second time that he has interfered with what the beast had wanted and Jimmy knew that it wasn't all to happy with him right now. The wolf turned around and burned his eyes into Jimmy's. They locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Never breaking contact. Jimmy didn't dare move his eyes in any other direction. At least not until the last second. It moved closer to him sleekly. He looked into Jimmy's eyes. Reading them. Jimmy felt this and did his best to think of nothing else but the glowing yellow eyes in front of him.

Something about the way it looked at him made him feel that whatever plan he was trying to come up with, wasn't safe within his thoughts. If there even was a way to get out of this, the wolf would know by looking into his eyes. He could hear his friends on the other side. Crying his name out while banging on the wall. Mostly Cindy's voice. Goddard must still be up in his room. If his dog was in the lab, the wall would have opened by now. He had to think fast. If they get the secret door open before he can find a way to trap this beast again, someone could get hurt. Possibly killed. He couldn't let that happen. His gaze remained on the creature.

"Bring it on." Jimmy muttered under his breath with a determined look.

Jimmy struggled with all the strength he had to dodge the wolf's attacks. He was too quick for him. The wolf had averted all its aggression and frustration on him. He tried using the laser on his watch to take him out. But it didn't so much as burn any of its hairs off. All it did was anger him even more. Jimmy jumped from spot to spot in order to protect himself. His inside were screaming with pain as each attack that he tried to dodge, would leave him with claw marks o his arm, chest, or shoulders. He had to keep running around. The good thing was that he was in shape for this kind of work out. Jimmy looked over at the cage. If he could just climb to the top maybe it can be somewhere he can hide. But he still needed to find a way to stop it from hurting his friends.

"Wait, the freeze ray-"Jimmy said out loud just as the wolf tackled him down for the third time. Jimmy jumped back to his feet and ran towards the cage. He opened up his watch as he ran.

"Goddard! Red alert! Get the freeze ray!"Jimmy yelled into his watch.

"Bark!"Goddard said and immediately disappeared from the screen on his watch. Jimmy ran to the cage and attempted to climb.

The bars were slippery and it was even more difficult for him to try to make it up in time. The cage could have been more than 25 feet high. He was half way there. If he could hold on for just a few more seconds, then everything will be fine.

He thought too soon. The beast pushed against the cage with all its weight which caused Jimmy to slide down the bars. He kept his grip as much as he could but it was useless. He continued to slide further and further down with each push he felt bellow him until Jimmy felt something pierce his skin. He yelled out in pain and still didn't even know what was the cause of it. He felt something pull his leg down painfully until he couldn't hang on anymore. Jimmy finally looked down and saw that the wolf had jumped high enough to bite him right above his left ankle.

The wolf kept his grip on Jimmy's leg and yanked at it until Jimmy finally released the bar he was holding on to and fell down. He fell ten feet to his butt and rolled over to his side to catch his breath. The wolf stood over him and growled with authority. Jimmy tried to get up and run, but the second he put his weight on his left leg, it gave out and knocked him back down. The pain was to much for him to handle. The bite was so deep that he could clearly see all of the teeth marks that bore into his jeans. Blood began to pile up within his leg. He looked up at the beast in defeat. And the beast looked at him in victory.

Behind the wall Goddard had sprinted into the lab holding the freeze ray.

"Goddard help! Jimmy's still in there with that thing!"Cindy yelled with desperation in her eyes.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard said as he ran to the keyboard on the wall. He types in the code with his hand as fast as he could. The wall opened and the children began to run inside. Goddard ran in front to stop them. He used his arm to push them back and gave them a warning signal.

He took the freeze ray and pointed it to the animal that was holding his master captive against cage. Jimmy looked over at Goddard and smiled in relief. Goddard ran towards the wolf and barked defensively at it. The grey wolf turned around and found himself being attacked by the freeze ray once again. He ran to Goddard and did everything it could to fight off the blasts. Goddard continued shooting repeatedly and repeatedly until it couldn't take it anymore. He crashed down to the floor and let the ice form around his body.

Cindy, Libby, Carl, and Sheen walked inside slowly and looked to Jimmy who was still on the ground in shock. He looked down at his foot and noticed the thick amount of blood that began to stain his jeans.

"Neutron are you okay?" Cindy said running towards him once she felt it was safe to move. She walked over to him and offered him a hand. He looked at her hand and smacked it away.

"Are you kidding me Vortex? What the hell were you doing in my lab?! Are you crazy?! You could have been killed!" Jimmy bellowed. He rolled onto his stomach and did his best to get up on his own. The pain was still too great. He grabbed on the bars of the cage to lift himself up and put the rest of his weight on his right leg instead. He hoped nobody would notice the bite.

"Well I wouldn't have found a way into your lab if you hadn't left your door wide open!" Cindy retorted.

"Oh well excuse me! I didn't think you would actually snoop around in here like some kind of creep! I trusted you!" Jimmy yelled back.

"Don't you go babbling to me about trust you big fake. Like if your so honest!" Cindy yelled angrily at his face.

"What are you talking about Vortex?" Jimmy asked.

"You know what I'm talking about! You deliberately lied to me about finding the beast! Even after I helped you find clues. I deserved to know!" Cindy yelled showing the hurt in her tone.

"First of all, that doesn't give you the right to break into my lab. Second of all, if I didn't tell you about it because you have a record for ruining my plans. And third, I was gonna call you and I did!" Jimmy yelled.

"Like I'm going to believe that! I gave you a chance to tell me and you blew it!" Cindy said.

"Well I could care less what you believe Vortex! If you don't want to believe the truth, that's your loss!" Jimmy yelled back once more. His heart was racing. He felt as if something inside him was emerging that made it difficult to control his rage.

"Now get the hell out of my lab! Before you get anyone else killed with your stupidity!" he yelled pointing to the exit. "All of you! Get out!"

Everyone stepped back in both shock and confusion. Everyone backed out of the room except for Cindy. She remained in the same spot that she was with her arms crossed. He turned his back to her as he attempted to walk normally. Again useless.

"Neutron why are you limping? Are you okay?" Cindy asked forgetting how mad she was at him just a few seconds ago.

"I'm fine.." he muttered bitterly. He limped over to the block of ice and began to push it back into the cage.

"You have claw marks all over you. And you bleeding from your leg. Here let me help you." Cindy said in concern. She put her hand around his arm and he pushed her back.

"I said I'm fine Cindy! Leave me alone and get out!" he yelled angrily. The fire in his eyes frightened her. She had never seen him so aggressive with her before. She took a step back. His words hurt her so much that she couldn't find anything to say back to him. She just looked at him with a blank expression as he tried to push the ice on his own.

"Cin, common just leave him alone." Libby called out from the other side.

"Go.." he mumbled without turning to face her. Cindy sighed and walked away without another word. Jimmy stood by the ice until he heard the sound of the lab door closing echo through the room. He collapsed onto the floor. Clutching on to his leg which had begun to burn. Goddard ran to his side and licked off the blood from his ankle.

"It's not that bad boy." Jimmy assured petting his dog's head. "Get me the Neutron antibiotics quick." he breathed as the burn began to get stronger. Goddard darted out of the room and returned back with a large red emergency kit box that had the Neutron symbol right in the middle of it.

Jimmy opened the box and pulled out a small glass test tube with a white liquid inside. He filled it up in a syringe and attacked the needle. He injected it on himself directly above where the wolf had bit him. He flinched at the pain at first and then eased up as he felt the medicine run through his blood stream.

"Everything's going to be fine." Jimmy said to himself and to Goddard. "At least now I won't have to worry about the bite infecting me in any kind of way." he said.

He dug trough the box and took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol along with a piece of white gauze. Goddard helped him by pouring it on his wound and cleaning out the blood. Jimmy grit his teeth with every burn he felt as his dog continued to clean out the bite mark. As soon as Goddard was done, Jimmy applied his Neutronic band aid over it and then another on the other claw marks that were left on him.

He leaned back and let the pain slowly subside before getting up. As he and Goddard continued to push the rest of the ice back into the cage, he still couldn't figure out what infuriated him the most. The fact that Cindy had snuck into his lab or that she could have been killed only a few moments ago. If he hadn't shown up at that moment she could have...he closed his eyes and did his best to not think about what could have happened to her. It was over and she was safe. That's all that mattered..

Jimmy made sure everything was locked up and secure before he left the beast alone once more. Although the pain was gone momentarily, he still wasn't able to walk without limping. As he made his way out if the clubhouse he looked over to the pink house across the street. The lights were off. He sighed again.

"I'm sorry Cindy." he whispered as he looked at her window. He knew that he must have hurt her feelings for the way he snapped at her. But the fact that he had almost lost her was enough to set him off. He knew there would be no way that she would forgive him. She left without even insulting him. Something that she has never done in all the years that he had known her. It worried him. He scratched the back of his head and walked back into the house.

With all the ruckus that was going on in his lab, he was quite surprised to notice that no life seemed to be erupting from his home. His mom and dad were still surprisingly asleep in their room. He tiptoed up the dark stairwell until he finally made it to his room. He was too weak to change out of his shredded and blood stained shirt and jeans. Goddard helped him remove his shoes and climbed back under his covers.

Twice he had almost been killed that night. He was exhausted. As Jimmy lay in bed, he could feel his wounds burn with each breath that he took. One was run clean across his chest. He did his best to avoid his pain and began to drift back to sleep.

"Tomorrow will be better..." he murmured as his mind began to shut down...

The glare of the sunlight had streamed through his window and flashed into his eyes. He knew it was morning but didn't feel like getting up yet. As he shuffled around his bed, he felt a severe pain come from his ankle as it brushed up against his blanket. The pain was enough to wake Jimmy up in confusion.

He felt his head a lot heavier than usual as he rose up. His vision went blurry for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted to the light. Jimmy massaged his head in order to ease the pressure he began to feel inside.

"Goddard. Wake mood." Jimmy grumbled. Goddard opened his eyes and walked over to his master.

"I don't feel so good." he said closing his eyes shut. He has never gotten sick before and for some reason, it worried him.

Jimmy removed his blankets and attempted to walk, but nearly fell over. Goddard extended his arm out to help Jimmy sit back on the edge of the bed. Both legs wobbled as he adjusted himself. His head was still spinning even after rubbing it constantly. Every muscle in his body was so weak that he couldn't even move without shaking. Jimmy looked down at his shredded shirt and found that the band aids were still on. He ripped of whatever bits of his shirt were left until he was completely shirtless. Several band aids were placed around him. He slowly ripped each one and sighed in relief as he discovered that they have healed without leaving any scars. He looked down at his bloody ankle and saw the giant patch that lay over it. It still hurt even more than it did the night before.

Jimmy took a deep breath and carefully removed the band aid. What he saw made his face grow even more paler than it already was. The bite was still there and didn't heal at all, but may have gotten worse. The blood that dried out on the wound had turned into a thick black color. And the skin surrounding it had turned into a strange mixture of a white, yellowish, purple color. It looked as if it was lacking blood circulation. He lightly touched the area in which he was bitten and felt his skin very rough. Jimmy turned to Goddard with a worried look. His dog looked back at him with the same expression.

"Check my vitals boy." Jimmy said in a raspy voice. His voice was beginning to get tired out as well. Goddard scanned Jimmy's wound and then scanned the rest of his body. The screen popped out of his chest.

_"Body temperature is currently at 102 degrees, all other signs are normal. Wound seems to be causing some sort of unknown infection._" Goddard said on the screen.

Jimmy squinted his eyes and did his best to read what it said on the screen. Everything was still very blurry to him. He felt as though he was seeing three Goddards sitting on his bed. He tried focusing on the one in the middle.

"I have a fever?" Jimmy said out loud. "But fevers don't cause this much effect. Then again I never really get sick so I wouldn't know. This feels like way to much." he said closing his eyes again. "But there can't be an infection. The antibiotics should have cleared my body of any kind of virus. There's nothing strong enough that can counteract the medicine. It's not possible." he said in confusion.

_"You haven't had incidents like this before. So there was no way for us to test it out master."_ Goddard said.

"Well if the rest of my vitals are normal, then maybe it's not that bad." Jimmy said.

_"This is an unknown virus master. We do not know what it can do or how it affects you."_

"I have to go check on the wolf." Jimmy said getting up. His legs wobbled and collided to the floor. His entire body had begun to shake while he lifted himself up. With the help of his dog, Jimmy grab onto his dresser and pulled himself up. He leaned onto the counter and looked at himself in the mirror that was hung up on his wall and took in the fatigue figure that was staring back at him.

His eyes were blood shot and puffy, the extreme paleness of his face made the dark circles under his eyes even more visible than they already were, and his whippy dip hair hung over his face. His brown hair seemed faded out along with the rest of his skin. He looked like a zombie. The only time he had ever looked as bad as this was when he used the sick patch on himself. _It didn't look as bad as this though_, he said to himself. Goddard walked next to him and whimpered. He gave his dog a melancholy smile.

"I'm sure its nothing boy...Let's get some blood samples and maybe I can use it's DNA to make an antidote." he said. Jimmy looked down at his body. He was a wreck. "Uhh maybe we should take the shortcut. My mom will freak out if she sees me like this."

With help from Goddard, Jimmy managed to put on another red T-shirt and then limped over to the wall next to his bed. The giant hole that was on the other side, opened up and sucked the both of them down the tube that led directly to Jimmy's lab. They landed on the cold hard floor before they knew it. The impact caused an ache to spread around his entire body. Jimmy shivered as he lifted himself up.

"Leaping Leptons it's freezing." he said crossing his arms to cover his chest. "Turn off the A.C." he said to Goddard. His screen opened up.

"The A.C. is off master. Room is only 71 degrees." he answered.

"Oh.." Jimmy said quietly. "I must be a little sensitive to room temperature."

He walked over towards the wall in which the beats was incarcerated. Since Jimmy was barely able to stand, Goddard typed in the code into the keyboard and opened up the wall. Jimmy walked in and saw the beast at the far corner of the cage with his back turned to him. He took a step inside and the wolf turned around automatically. Jimmy took a deep breath and limped inside. The wolf stayed where he was and watched Jimmy struggle into the room where the controls were. He checked the security camera. No disturbance since he had left.

"At least we know now that this cage can be strong enough to hold him. Now we can just take out some blood and get him some food." he said to Goddard. Jimmy glanced over to the wolf and noticed that he was watching him carefully. Anger rose up within Jimmy. He knew perfectly well that this was all the wolf's fault and also that he could have killed Cindy. Jimmy walked over to the cage door and stared at him with a look of disgust. All the pain and fatigue he was feeling was all because of that revolting creature in front of him.

"What do you eat anyways you rotten abomination?!" Jimmy spat with venom in his words.

"**Incase you didn't realize it last night, I eat anything that is dead or alive." **came a voice. His heart leaped and his eyes widened. He turned around to make sure that it was just him and Goddard.

"Who said that?" Jimmy called out. Goddard looked at him in confusion. "You didn't hear that?" Goddard shook his head.

**"Aww so you 'can' hear me now? Very good. That shows progress. But let's not get too excited yet..."** came the voice again. It sounded deep and almost inhuman. He felt it echo through his head. The wolf got up from where he was sitting and walked over to Jimmy. He stopped only a few feet and sat back down. Jimmy looked into his eyes and noticed that they weren't as bright as they were before. They remained yellow, but they were no longer glowing.

"Who is this?" Jimmy said in a hushed voice.

**_"You still haven't figure it out yet boy? Honestly, I thought you were a genius_**." the voice said again. Jimmy looked at the wolf and noticed that he had a smirk on its face. The evil look that he had sent a shiver up his spine. Something about it made him feel uneasy.

**_"If you have to continue staring at me in order to figure this out, then take all the time you need. It's your clock that is ticking away. Not mine."_**

His eyes widened in realization. "It's _you_?!"Jimmy said with a high pitch in his voice.

The wolf's ears perked up and he walked closer to him. "**_So he's a genius after all.."_**

"No that's not possible. It can't be." Jimmy said beginning to shake his head in denial.

**_"Deny it all you want boy. I can care less.._**" the voice said bitterly. Goddard walked to Jimmy and scratched on his legs with worry. He ignored it.

"How is it that I can hear you?" Jimmy asked leaning closer to the bars. He was losing his strength by the second and did his best to stay in control of his body.

"**_The bite is what is giving you the ability to understand me._**." it said.

Jimmy looked down at his foot and then remembered why he was mad. He scowled at the wolf in front of him. "What did you do to me!" Jimmy asked darkly.

**"I cannot fully tell you what it is that is happening to you. I rather save my energy and continue this conversation tomorrow." **the wolf answered back flatly.

This response set his blood boiling. "You tell me what you did to me right now!" Jimmy screamed at the top of his lungs. The wolf only stared at him with a blank expression. Completely unaffected by his sudden burst of rage.

**_"I see your temper is beginning to flare up. I still can't see if that is a good sign or not...That was a brave thing you did last night._**" he said with what looked like another smirk.

"What are you talking about?"

"**_I'm talking about the girl. You did sacrifice yourself for her after all. A very valiant thing you did indeed. And I thought you were weak. But after what I saw, I might have been wrong about you. You showed some strong character.. it might even be enough to save you..._**" he muttered.

"I would do anything to keep her safe." Jimmy said sincerely. But he said it more for himself than to the wolf. "And how would you know? You don't know anything about me or who I am!"

**_"That is where you are wrong boy. I know that from the moment all this started, you were terrified about what might occur. Why do you think it was so easy for me to attack you when you first saw me at the deli? Didn't you wonder why it is that you could not find yourself to move as I ran to you?"_**

Jimmy pondered this and realized that he never actually wondered why he didn't react quick enough. Something in him just didn't let him.

**_"Fear is what I was able to use to control you,"_** the wolf said without waiting for Jimmy's response. **"I could smell your fear from a mile away. Your emotions were weak. And that's how I was able to use your own fear against you and control your mind without you even knowing it."**

"How can you do something like that? That's not possible." Jimmy said. He could just feel the wolf chuckle inside his mind.

**_"There's a lot that I can do that you don't know about. I am not what you think I am. And if you live, you are no longer what you thought you were." _**

"What do you mean 'if I live'?" Jimmy asked skeptically. The wolf got up and moved closer to his face.

**"I think you know what I mean boy. I have said enough.." **he said as he turns around. Deliberately smacking Jimmy's face with it's long tail.**  
**

"Stop right there!" Jimmy demanded. He was breathing heavenly again. The wolf stopped on his tracks. He tilted his head to the side to face Jimmy.

"You still haven't told me exactly what it is that you did to me! Why do I feel like this?" Jimmy asked.

**_"I cannot answer that question for you boy. What I gave you may be a gift or a curse. You interpret it however you want. Blame me or thank me. But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. You first must survive until tomorrow."_**

"How do I do that?"

**_"You don't do anything. Just wait. If your body is strong enough, you will live. These next twenty four hours will either make you or break you. That is all I have to say.."_** the wolf walked back to the corner where he was at first.

"That's it?! Just sit here and wait for my death without even knowing what it is that I have?" Jimmy yelled.

**_"For now...yes. Now leave me alone.._**" he said quietly.

"No I will not leave you alone! I want answers now! What is happening to me?!"

"**_Negative.." _**

"You will do as I say! Tell me what is going on before I-"

"Jimmy? Are you there sweetie?" came his mother's voice from his monitor. He took one last glare at the wolf before walking out.

"Yeah I'm here mom. I'll be right up." he said politely to his mother before the screen went blank. Goddard stepped out of the room and closed the wall.

"Nobody else can know that I am keeping him here. And after what he just told me, there's no way I can get rid of him now. Do you think you can get more meat for him to eat?" Jimmy asked his dog.

Goddard's chest opened. "_Yes master. What just happened with you right now? You just looked at the beast and spoke as if you were having a conversation with it."_

Jimmy sighed and scratched his chin. "I don't know either boy. It felt like if he was talking to me telepathically and I don't know how or why. The only thing that matters now is that we keep him locked up here and make sure nobody comes near him."_  
_

Goddard nodded to his owner. "Now let's go before my mom comes down to get me." Jimmy said limping over to the lab's exit door. Goddard ran in front of him.

_"Master what will your mother say if she saw you in this state?"_ his screen said. Jimmy read this and paused for a moment to think about it. He didn't even stop to consider what everyone else might say to the lack life that seemed to be flowing through his body.

"Goddard do I have anything that might make me feel better? At least temporarily?" he asked.

_"Off course master. Remember the Neutro-painkillers you created a few months ago when you injured your back after that crash on your rocket."_

"That's right! How could I forget about that! Can you fetch them for me boy?" Jimmy asked kindly. _  
_

"Bark!" and with that Goddard ran off to Jimmy's storage boxes. He rummaged through the different inventions until her finally came across a bottle full of red pills. He grabbed the bottle win his mouth and returned back to Jimmy. He took the bottle and dropped two pills onto the palm of his hand.

"One hundred percent guarantee that it will eliminate any kind of pain for the next six hours without causing any damage to the liver or giving you any side affects." Jimmy said presenting it to Goddard. "It may not be able to make me stop looking like this, but at least I can pretend that it's nothing."

Goddard pulled out a glass of water and handed it over to him. He accepted it gratefully. "Thanks boy." He tossed the toe pills into his mouth and drank the water. He closed his eyes and took several deep breathes. Within the fist thirty seconds, Jimmy felt his headache go away along with the fragile state he was in. Confidence grew in his eyes.

"Ahh..that's better." he said with relief. Goddard wagged his tail with happiness. They both walked to the exit. Although he was beginning to feel better, his stomach still continued to churn as he repeated the wolf's words in his mind. "**_And if you live, you are no longer what you thought you were.._**_" What did he mean by that? Am I_ _dying_? His heart was beating rapidly. _If_ I live. _If_ I live. _If_ I live. It just kept repeating over and over. "What did he do to me?" Jimmy whispered to himself. His face turning even more pale...

**End of Chapter 5**

**I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned for what will happen next.**


	6. Aftershock

Chapter 6: Aftershock

Jimmy entered his house through the kitchen door. As usual, his mother was already busy making breakfast. And his father..well to be honset..he had no idea where his dad was. Jimmy figured he must be at another early morning field trip with the rest of his World of Ducks fan club. He really hoped she didn't notice his weakened condition. He took a whiff of the air. She was making pancakes today.

"Hey mom." Jimmy said brightly. At least his voice had started to sound the same again.

"Good morning sweetie. Carl and Sheen called right now. They said they would be here in a little while. Did you boys have plans for today?" she asked with her back turned to him.

"I'm guessing since we didn't get to go to Retroland yesterday, they might want to go today." Jimmy said taking a seat at the round table. His mother sighed.

'What's wrong mom?" Jimmy asked in concern.

"Sweetheart I know you want to help the town and I respect that. I just don't think I agree with all of this.." she said.

"Agree with what mom?"

"I don't agree with you going out of your way to solve these kind of problems. You need to enjoy yourself while you are still young. Chasing after monsters, building gadgets, and going on space adventures isn't normal for a boy your age. I know you are genius hun. But you have to let yourself be a teenager right now." his mother said flipping the pancakes. "Let the authorities take care of this. I don't want you to pursue this creature anymore. It's time you start being normal for now." she said sincerely.

Jimmy looked at his mother. Not knowing what to say. His feeling were slightly hurt by her comment but he knew that she meant well. All this almost destroying the town and going after evil villains and monsters must have her fed up already.

"Please at least for a little while Jimmy, I'd like you to not spend so much time in your lab and spend more time with your friends."

"Mom I always make more than enough time for my friends." Jimmy corrected.

"Yes, but doing normal things like eating out or going to the beach or the movies."

"We do that stuff too.. We were gonna go to Retroland yesterday before the.." he trailed off. He could already feel that she had a counter argument for that.

"Exactly. Before the mayor told you to track down this mutated monster. That's what I mean Jimmy. You have to stop trying to solve everyone else's problems and take care of yourself. You boys should have gone to Retroland regardless."

"But this situation did concern us. That monster destroyed our garden." Jimmy declared.

"Yes but that doesn't mean you have to be the one to find it."

"So you just want me to simply not help anyone? Mom this thing could kill someone." Jimmy said.

"And why should you get killed over it? Honey I just want you stop making the worlds problems your problems." his mother said. "You have your whole life ahead of you to go out on crazy adventures and pursue scientific discoveries. But let yourself live right now. Just for once put yourself first-" his mother gasped before finishing her sentence as she took in her son's look once she turned around to hand him his pancakes.

"Jimmy what's wrong?" she said in horror. Right away she set the plate down on the counter and rushed over to him. She put the back of her palm on his forehead and then on his cheeks. "Sweetheart your face is burning! Do you have a temperature."

"Mom I'm fine," he said moving his head away from her. "I've just been working with the sick band again. I made it last longer even after taking off. Everything is fine. I'm just testing to see if there are any side affects." he assured her.

Mrs. Neutron's eyes narrowed. "This is what I mean Jimmy. No more experiments either. I want you to march off with your friends and do normal every day stuff. No science adventures. Now how do you get rid of this look?" she asked feeling the rest of his face.

He sighed. "I can't mom. It will only last a few hours." he said bitterly.

Her expression softened and she kissed his forehead. "I just want what's best for you darling. I'm not doing this to torture you. Now go out and have fun. Don't miss out on life's precious moments." Mrs. Neutron said brightly. Jimmy returned the expression. Well there was no way he can tell her what he has and what is currently happening to him. Whatever it is that is draining him, is something that was far beyond normal. She couldn't know about it.

"Okay.." Jimmy said weakly. Mrs. Neutron stood up and grabbed the plate of pancakes.

"Good. Now eat up before your breakfast gets cold." she said sweetly as she have him the plate.

Jimmy accepted the food and began to drown his pancakes in a giant serving of syrup. His mother sat across from him with her food. For some reason, the food didn't taste as appetizing as he thought they would. In fact they tasted terrible. Which was unusual for him because his mother's cooking was always delicious no matter what it was. He did his best to not make any faces while taking bites. Both ate in silence after that. Jimmy remained in a deep thought in order to get rid of that awful flavor of the food out of his mind. _If I'm dying then how am I supposed to tell her? All she wants is for me to have fun and be normal. _It simply meant to do nothing crazy for a while. But he knew now that that was the last thing he could do in a situation like this. As he swallowed his food, all he could do is hope that the wolf was just trying to scare him. But as he replayed the scene for the millionth time in his head, he could just feel that the wolf wasn't lying at all._  
_

_Knock knock_

Mrs. Neutron stood up and walked to the front door. Jimmy remained seated and listened as his mother greeted his two friends from the living room.

"Hey Mrs. Neutron. Is Jimmy here?" Carl asked sweetly. Over the years the two boys have changed quite a bit. Carl, who was once a heavy-set child, has managed to turn most of his fat into muscle by working out with Jimmy. His voice sounded almost the same since he still hasn't gone through all the changes yet. It was only a few months ago that he stopped crushing on Jimmy's mom after starting a long distance relationship with his pen-pal Elkie. Even though he has gotten a slimmer athletic body, he still remains his old shy clumsy self.

Sheen, who also remains hyper active, has also grown almost as tall as Jimmy. Though he still obsesses over Ultra Lord, he does his best to conceal it from everyone except Libby who has now recently agreed to be his girlfriend. His voice has grown deeper in cute hyper active way. According to Libby who was excited to see her boyfriend going though 'the changes'. It was quite appealing to her. Just like Carl, his personality was still the same.

"He's just finishing up his breakfast. Come on in." Mrs. Neutron said politely. He could hear their footsteps making their way to the kitchen. Carl and Sheen walked in first followed by his mother. Jimmy got up and put his dishes on the sink before greeting his friends.

"Hey Jim-" Carl and Sheen both stopped walking and were left speech less. Sheen was the first to speak up.

"Dude what did you do to yourself? You look like crap!" Sheen exclaimed.

"Yes Sheen I'm well aware of that." Jimmy said. "It's nothing. Just an experiment."

"Are you sure? You look pretty ba-" Jimmy cut Carl off right away.

"I said I'm fine!" he bellowed. Both his friends jumped at his out burst. Mrs. Neutron looked at her son in shock.

"S-sorry.." Jimmy said with a guilty expression.

"Sweetie if you're not feeling well, maybe you should go lay down. Carl and Sheen can come over some other time." she said walking between the boys.

"No I'm fine mom. I just had a long night." he said scratching the back of his head. "I'll call you incase of an emergency.(turns to Carl and Sheen) let's go guys." he said leading the boys out of the kitchen.

"Have a good time sweetums!" his mother called out. Jimmy opened the front door and walked onto the porch. They were half way across the lawn when Jimmy broke the silence. "So what do you guys wanna do?" Jimmy asked.

Both boys were silent.

"Guys?"

"..."

Jimmy sighed with guilt. "I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to snap at you like that right now. And I'm also sorry about kicking you out of the lab last night. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay Jim." Carl said finally.

"Yeah it's cool. Just try to work on your temper." Sheen suggested.

"Yeah even Cindy was left speechless." Carl said.

At the mention of her name suddenly made his stomach churn and not because of the food he just ate. Eventually he would have to confront her for the way he acted with her. But it's not like he could tell her that he was furious because the girl he loved more than anything could have been mauled by a giant wolf. Nothing he could say would make up for hurting her feelings.

"Why don't we go hang out at the Candy Bar?" Sheen said staring at his phone as they walked.

"I'm not that hungry, but that sounds fine." Jimmy said.

"Oh yeah let's go! Sam just improved his triple vanilla rocky road almond swirl and I've been dying to try it!" Carl said excitedly.

"Just make sure not to break our diet arrangement," Jimmy warned. "Remember you are only limited to two desserts once a week."

"Don't worry I won't. Ellkie just got her own laptop today and we'll be video chatting later on. I wanna look good for her." Carl said with an embarrassed smile.

"Good for you Carl." Jimmy said with a smile. "I'm glad you and Elkie are working things out."

"Yeah me too. I'm hoping to raise money for her soon so that she can come visit again."

"Uhh Carl. Why don't you just ask Jimmy to bring her? Sweden isn't even that far from here." Sheen said putting his phone away. He turns to Jimmy. "It's not far right?" he made a side whisper.

"It's kind of far." Jimmy whispered back.

"Oh do you think you can bring Elkie Jimmy? That would be really cool!" Carl said excitedly.

"I wish I could Carl. But unfortunately right now I'm not allowed to do anything that is related to science or going on crazy adventures."

"Did you get grounded? What did you do this time!" Sheen asked loudly.

"Nothing. My mom just wants me to try to do normal everyday stuff. No rockets or experiments or traveling in the hover car or anything like that." Jimmy explained to his two friends.

"But that _is_ everyday stuff to us!" Sheen exclaimed frantically.

"Sheen calm down. It's not gonna be like this for now on. Just for a couple of weeks or until my mom forgets about this. It's not the end of the world. You can last a month without doing anything ridiculously dangerous." Jimmy said. _There goes my vacation, _Jimmy sighed to himself.

"But that's all I live for!" Sheen yelled to the sky dramatically.

"What about Libby?" Jimmy asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah...Uhh..her too.." Sheen said nervously.

"If your not supposed to do anything that has to do with science, then what are you gonna do with the wolf?" Carl asked.

"I can't do anything with the wolf now." Jimmy said looking down at the floor.

"But Jimmy all you had to do is catch it and turn it in. Why don't you just call the mayor up and tell him." Sheen said.

"I can't.." Jimmy muttered.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked.

"I-I..I just can't right now. I wish could explain to you guys why but now is not the right time. Just promise me you won't tell anyone else I found it especially my mom. Got it?" Jimmy warned.

"Okay."

"Yeah I'm good at keeping secrets." Sheen yelled with pride. Jimmy just rolled his eyes at him.

"Where's your hover car?" Sheen asked looking around the yard.

"It's in the lab. But remember Sheen, we can't use it." Jimmy reminded him.

"What?! Are you saying we have to walk all the way to the Candy Bar?! Do you have any idea how far that is?" Sheen yelled into Jimmy's face. He pushed Sheen's head away from his face and nearly knocked him over.

"We've walked that far before Sheen. It won't do you any harm if you walked a little. We can't always depend on my inventions to help us do everything."

"I don't mind walking that much." Carl said.

"See. That's the spirit Carl. Now let's go before it gets any later." Jimmy said impatiently.

"What are you talking about? It's only eleven in the morning?" Sheen said taking a look at his watch.

"Just hurry up." Jimmy said pulling Sheen by the shirt. He couldn't really stand being outside his lawn. Especially since Cindy's house was only a few feet away from his. Even though, he was in hurry to leave as fast as possible, he was not aware that Sheen and Libby had actually devised a secret plan ahead of time...

"Oh c'mon Cindy! You go to the Candy Bar all the time!" Libby argued with her blonde haired friend. Both girls were currently in Libby's room. Libby sat on her bed and Cindy was right across from her, swinging herself on the chair by the desk.

"That's my point!" Cindy grumbled. "I go all the time so why would I wanna go now?"

"To go out and get your mind off things." Libby responded.

"I don't need to get my mind off anything." she said leaning her head back.

Libby crossed her arms in disbelief. "Oh really? So why have you been moping around all morning?"

"I was not moping! Gosh can I just let myself be mellow without you thinking that something is wrong with me?" Cindy said defensively.

"Girl don't forget that I know you. And once you have that little helpless face of yours that tries to play it off and act like everything is fine, I know that something is definitely up."

Cindy sighed and turned away from Libby. Before Libby could continue, she felt a vibration come from her pocket. She pulled out her cellphone and saw a text from Sheen.

_"All good to go pumpkin!=) have you convinced Cindy yet?" _

Libby looked over to Cindy to make sure she wasn't watching before texting back.

"_Still working on it -.-_" she answered. Libby hit send on her phone before putting it back in her pocket. Cindy was too busy looking out the window with an emotionless expression to even notice that Libby had been texting Sheen._  
_

"So how bout it?" Libby asked brightly.

Cindy sighed and turned to her bestfriend. "You're not gonna stop until I say yes are you?"

"You know how persistent I am." she said with a devilish smile.

"Okay fine! But under certain conditions."

"What?"

"We leave when I feel like it."

"okay."

"You let me be however I want to be afterwards without any of your side comments."

"Fair enough."

"Aaaannd..-"

"Uggghhhh what else!" Libby said in an irritated tone.

"You buy me whatever I want.." Cindy finished off.

"Nuh-uh girl. You got your own money!" Libby exclaimed. Her phone vibrated again. She checked her phone and opened up the messages.

_"Hurry up and convince her babe. We're almost there. I'm not sure how long Jimmy's gonna wanna stay here. He doesn't look too good:("_

Libby looked up from her phone and sighed in defeat. "Fine then. My treat.." Libby mumbled. Cindy smiled and got up from the chair.

"Sweet. Let's go then." she said.

Libby followed Cindy out the door as she responded to Sheen's text.

_"Alright we're leaving. See you soon hun;-)_" she put the phone back in her pocket and began going down the stairs...

It wasn't that difficult finding a table for the three boys since it was still early in the morning. The Candy Bar was nearly empty, except for a few tables that had been taken up across from them.

"By the way dude, that was pretty cool what you did last night. I never got a chance to thank you for saving my sweet Libby from that horrible monster." Sheen said once they were seated.

"No problem Sheen. Even though she and Cindy both snuck into my lab, I wasn't just gonna let them get hurt." Jimmy said with a scowl. He brushed off that memory again.

"I guess now I have to call the mayor and tell him my mom won't let me capture the wolf." Jimmy sighed.

"But Jimmy what if the mayor finds out and gets you in trouble?" Carl asked in concern.

"He's not going to find out. Only you and the girls know. And you're not gonna mention it to anyone _remember_?" Jimmy said threateningly. The two boys nodded in unison.

"I would worry about Cindy though." Sheen said. Before Jimmy could respond to that, they all stopped talking as soon as Sam walked to their table.

"Welcome to the Candy Bar, can I take your order? Yeah." he said.

"Get me an Oreo milkshake with cherries on top." Sheen said.

"We're all out of cherries. Yeah." Sam said writing down the order on the notepad.

"Awww why me." Sheen said looking down in disappointment.

"What'll it be for you Carl? Yeah." Sam asked turning to the freckled face fourteen year old.

"I'll have your triple vanilla rocky road almond swirl." he said with excitement.

Sam smiled. "Aww trying my my new upgrade now are you? Yeah."

"I sure am! I'd be crazy if I didn't." Carl said brightly.

"And what will you have Neutron? Yeah." Sam asked.

"Actually I'll pass. I'm not hungry." Jimmy answered. Sam stopped taking notes and frowned menacingly at him.

"Look kid, you know the rules. You either eat something or get out of here!" Sam yelled pointing to the door.

"Okay okay fine." Jimmy said a little startled. "I'll just have a banana smoothie."

"Good. Yeah." Sam said finishing up the orders. He left the table.

"What's up with you anyways?" Sheen asked taking a closer look at Jimmy's face.

"Like I said before, it's just an experiment. I've been trying to improve the sick band so that it will give other people the impression that you are sick even after taking it off." Jimmy explained.

"And for how long are you supposed to look like a zombie?" Sheen asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Jimmy admitted nervously. He felt bad not telling his bestfriends what's going on with him. But in the state he was in, he didn't really have a choice. At least until he could figure out what was happening. But the wolf has refused to tell him until tomorrow. That is, if he was still alive. Again he felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Jiiimmmyyy!" Carl repeated for the third time while snapping his fingers in front of Jimmy's blank face.

He snapped back to reality. "Huh? What?" he asked in confusion.

"What's going on with you?" Sheen asked with concern.

"Yeah you totally zoned out right now." Carl added.

"Oh sorry guys. I have a lot on my mind right now. What did you say?" he asked. Sam came by again and handed everyone their ice cream.

"I asked if you didn't know how long the effects were supposed to last, then why would you use it on yourself." Carl answered.

"Uhh..well-"Jimmy was cut off from his response when he heard the entrance door open. Out of his usual curiosity, he turned around to see who it was. Two girls walked into the Candy Bar and scanned the area. One of them had caramel dark skin and the other...Jimmy's heart began to race. It was Cindy. Right away he turned around and did his best not to be seen by either one of the girls. But it was too late.

"Sweetcakes! Over here!" Sheen called out to his girlfriend and waving to her at the same time. Libby smiled at them and led Cindy nervously towards the table. As bad is it tasted, Jimmy quickly drank his banana smoothie in order to calm his nerves. It only made it worse as he heard the girls come up from behind him.

"Hey guys." Libby said in a fake sweet voice. "What a surprise."

Jimmy turned to the girls with a weak smile. He immediately locked eyes with Cindy. Her expression turned lethal.

"Neutron!? What the hell are _you_ doing here?!"she growled.

"Uh..I uh-"Right away she broke the stare and turned to Libby who sat herself comfortably next to Sheen.

"Y-you set this up didn't you!" Cindy fumed. Libby looked at her with guilt written all over her face.

"Okay yes I told Sheen to get Jimmy to come to the Candy Bar so you guys can talk." Libby admitted.

"What?" Jimmy said out loud. He right away turned to Sheen with an aggravated look on his face. Sheen avoided his gaze by looking out the window and whistling innocently.

"I have nothing to say to this moron." Cindy spat referring to Jimmy. She turned around and walked away. Jimmy jumped out of his seat and felt a strange dizziness come over him. But he ignored it right away and ran after her.

"Cindy wait!" Jimmy called out from behind her. Jimmy grabbed her arm in attempt to turn her around and face him. She yanked her arm away from him and shoved him back.

"Doesn't feel good to get the cold shoulder does it?" she said turning away to the door again.

"Please just hear me out." Jimmy pleaded.

"Get lost Neutron!" Cindy called out. She was about to push the front door open when Jimmy stepped in front of her.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" she threatened.

Jimmy stood his ground. "I'm not leaving until you hear what I have to say." he said slightly afraid of what she might do. Her eyes narrowed at him and she gave in.

"Fine. You have two minutes!" she said. Jimmy took her by the hand and led her outside where they can talk in private.

The other three remained seated in the booth.

"Jimmy's going to kill me after this." Sheen said finally.

"Don't worry hun. I'm sure after they talk and clear things out, they'll both be so distracted by eachother that they wont remember killing us." Libby said taking a sip of Sheen's milkshake.

"I sure hope so." Carl said with fear. "I didn't even know about this until now."

"Do I get a present for doing a good job?" Sheen asked eagerly to his girlfriend. She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek.

"Yes sweetums, I'll give you your little present later." she said with a seductive smile.

"Haha sweet!" Sheen said pumping his fist in the air triumphantly.

Once they were outside, Jimmy led her towards the back of the Candy Bar.

"Where are you taking me Nerdtron?" Cindy asked bitterly. He kept moving her without saying a word until he released her hand and turned in her direction.

"Look I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry." he said rubbing his neck nervously. "I meant for the way I acted yesterday."

Cindy stared at him with a scowl for a few minutes. "Apology not accepted. Good bye." she sad turning around. He grabbed her by the hand with more force this time.

"No I'm not finished!" he pleaded.

"Well then step on it Neutron! I don't have all day!"

"Okay okay!" he fiddled with his fingers while trying to figure out what to say. "About yesterday. I shouldn't have treated you like that. All you were trying to do was help and I didn't let you. And..I was wrong for doing that.." he finished. Cindy's expression softened.

"I guess I should also apologize for sneaking into your lab.." she mumbled.

"No you don't.." Jimmy said gently. "I shouldn't have lied to you about finding the wolf in the first place. I was just afraid that if you knew that I was keeping him in my lab, that you would tell the authorities about it." he admitted.

"Why would you think that? Is that the kind of friend you think I am?" Cindy raised her voice. She felt a little offended that he would think that of her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help it. With the record you have had in the past, it didn't let me think otherwise." he said defensively.

She made eye contact with him and sighed._ Off course he was right! How could he trust me after all the things that I have done to him in the past? I released information about his lab to the Yokians, I helped Eustace Strych get Jimmy's map to the hydro quantum energy source, I nearly turned him into the police when he escaped from jail for a ten thousand dollar reward, I tried to get him voted off the team while we were playing the Intergalactic Showdown(well that was mostly his fault), I pulled such humiliating pranks on him..the list could go on forever. I wouldn't trust myself either. So how could I expect him to trust me?_

"Again I'm sorry. I truly am. I feel horrible about all this. I shouldn't have thought that way about you. I should have given you a chance." Jimmy continued. She put her finger up in front of him to keep him from saying anything else.

"No you're right Neutron. After all that I've done, I can't expect you to trust me either. So I don't blame you. But I still don't think you should have reacted the way you did." she reminded him. He looked down with shame in his eyes.

"I know there's no excuse for how I acted. It's just that..you guys..the both of you could have been killed. And I guess a certain emotion took over me. I could have lost you.." he mumbled the last sentence.

Cindy repeated what he just said in her mind to make sure she didn't just imagine it.

"R-really? Is that why you acted like a jerk? You were overwhelmed by the feeling that you could have lost me?" she asked a little too sweetly.

"Y-yeah.." he said twisting his foot on the floor nervously.

"Wow Jimmy. Thanks for caring." Cindy said as she felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. "Don't worry. I would never tell the authorities about the wolf." she assured.

"Thanks. Glad I could trust you." he said sincerely.

"And for how many days do you plan on keeping in there?" Cindy asked.

"Well-uhh actually I might have to keep him there a little longer. See my mom told me not to do anymore experiments or any science for a while, so I'm gonna have to do it in secret and I have to be careful to make sure she doesn't find out." Jimmy answered.

"Uhh Neutron? I know that it's hard for you to pass off anything worth studying, but I really think you should call the mayor and tell him that you have found it already. There's no point in keeping this a secret. What's so important about this thing that you have to know?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I need to find out." Jimmy answered in a deep thought. He started feeling a little queasy. And now that he thought about it, his mouth was starting to feel dry as well.

"Neutron are you okay?" Cindy said suddenly aware of his condition. "You look terrible." He stared blankly at her. Not taking in a word she was saying. His palms felt sweaty.

"Jimmy?" she repeated. He looked at her and felt everything going in slow motion. Her voice echoed through his head but he couldn't process any words to reply back to her. Suddenly, his hearing went silent. His body started to shake. All he could hear was his heart beat which had begun to move rapidly. Jimmy clenched onto his chest only to feel his heart pounding below it, begging to break free. He could see Cindy making hand gestures at him, but could no longer hear what she was saying. Jimmy looked away from her and slouched down in his knees. He felt like he was about to hurl. In fact he did only a few seconds after that.

Jimmy ran to the wall and began to vomit. Everything that he ate earlier, suddenly appeared on the floor in front of him. It felt like an eternity food just spilling before him. His insides were begging for it to be over and his throat was starting to burn. Jimmy throw up whatever was left and caught his breath. He wiped some sweat off his forehead. That usual a dizzy feeling returned to him when he turned around to face Cindy.

"Jimmy what's going on?!" Cindy shrieked with worry. He had been so busy vomiting that he didn't notice that she was holding onto his shoulder the entire time. She looked into his eyes to look for some kind of sign of life going on in there.

"I'm fine..just an experiment.." was all Jimmy managed to say before his eyes rolled back and collapsed onto the floor...

He had been babbling like an idiot the entire ride home. Luckily, Cindy was able to contact Goddard and have him bring the hovercar to the Candy Bar. Jimmy laid down in the backseat while Cindy drove back to his house in a rush. He was between total unconsciousness and semi-consciousness. Every now and then his eyes would open and he could see the equal expressions of serious concern come over his friends who remained in the back to keep an eye on him. Even after Cindy insisted to take him to the hospital, he would continue rambling that it was just a simple experiment and that it would wear off by tomorrow. At least that was the only thing he would say that made sense. Everything else that he mumbled could not be understood by neither Carl, Sheen, or Libby. Although, Libby could have sworn that she heard him murmur Cindy's name in his sleep once or twice.

When they made it to Jimmy's front lawn, they all did their best to carry Jimmy's motionless body out of the hovercar as carefully as possible. His mother received Cindy's phone call of her son's sudden loss of consciousness. She rushed towards the children and helped them pick him up.

"Jimmy! Sweetheart, what's going on with him?" she asked the gang frantically.

"We don't know Mrs. Neutron." Cindy answered with a look of worry. "One minute he's here, and then the next he's out. I tried to take him to the hospital but he said no. He said it's no big deal. Just a side affect from an experiment."

Mrs. Neutron lifted him by the legs while Carl and Sheen put both his arms over their shoulders. Cindy gently lifted his head up and they all hobbled into the house. Libby cleared the way as Mrs. Neutron made her way up the stairs to Jimmy's room. Cindy made sure his head didn't hit anything on their way up.

They all carefully set his body comfortably on the bed and watched him sleep.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take him to the hospital?" Jimmy heard his mother's voice say. He opened his eyes into two tiny slits. That's as far as his strength went. They couldn't take him to the hospital. If they did, the doctors would find the bite on his foot and that would spill the whole story about finding the wolf.

"No hospital, no hospital." Jimmy breathed. He mumbled the words so effortlessly that he wondered if they even understood what he said. Mrs. Neutron looked at her son and ran to his side. She caressed his forehead with her hand.

"Sweetie? Are you alright." In his mind, he groaned that he would have to build up strength again to respond to her question.

"Fine..no hospital..experiment only..need sleep." he muttered across the room. And with that, he was out again. Everyone exchanged nervous glances. He was the genius after all, so maybe he was gonna be alright if he said he was. Right? Wrong.

"Go home children." Mrs Neutron said finally. They all broke their gaze from Jimmy and looked at her. "If anything happens I'll be sure to call and let you know. I think we should let Jimmy rest for now."

They all nodded silently and followed her out the room. Cindy stayed behind and crossed her arms. She strode over to the side of Jimmy's bed and looked at him. Making sure that no one was looking, she quickly planted a kiss on his right temple.

"Get better soon." she whispered softly into his ear before walking away and closing the door behind her...

Shock seemed to erupt within his body like if he had been struck by lightning. His eyes opened in horror and he stood up in a panic. Jimmy let the air enter his lungs as he looked at his surroundings. It felt cold and dark. He lifted himself off the hard floor and stiffened out his back. It looked like some kind of room, cave, or tunnel judging by the echo that seemed to emanate whenever he made a single movement. Jimmy took another deep breath and began to walk. Where he was walking, he had no idea since it was so dark that he could barely see his hands but something was better than nothing.

As he walked, Jimmy realized that all the pain he was feeling before, including the one on his foot, seemed to have disappeared. That was a good sign...he hoped. He walked on forever through the darkness, not even seeing where he was going to the point where he had started to feel frustrated. He looked around for a way out. Pitch black. He groaned.

"Oh common! Can I get a little help?!" he yelled angrily. Like they had been the magic words, a stream of light suddenly caught his attention in the far off distance. Hope sparked in his eyes again. He ran towards the light and noticed that it was a white wooden door that was opened by just a few inches. He pushed the door open and let the gleam of the warm sunlight flash over him. He covered his eyes from the brightness as he stepped into whatever what was on the other side.

Right away he recognized his room on the other side of the door. But he wondered why it was here. Jimmy looked out the window so see if he saw a familiar house across the street. He did. Right away his heart leaped with joy as he saw the beautiful blonde girl retreating back to her house. He opened the window and stuck his head.

"Cindy!" Jimmy yelled cuffing his hands over his mouth. She continued walking towards her house. "Cindy!" he bellowed with more force. His voice echoed across the street. But she still showed no signs of having heard him. Cindy continued going up the front steps of her porch and opened the door to her home. "Cindy! No wait!" but it was too late. Jimmy pulled his head back out of the window and nearly got a heart attack when he looked at his bed. Something that left him completely stunned. Laying on Jimmy's bed, was Jimmy himself. He suddenly felt his heart sink.

Jimmy walked over to his bed and looked at himself. His face looked even worse. As if his skin could get any paler. But it was. He hesitantly reached his hand out and touched his forehead. It was no longer burning with a fever. Instead, it was ice cold. _That can't be good_." Jimmy said to himself. Dark purple circles enclosed around his eyes. He took a look at the rest of his body and noticed that his veins that intertwined all over his chest were popping up. But instead of green, they were black. Jimmy moved down to his legs and rolled up the hem of his pants. The bite was still there and infected as ever. Some kind of yellowish puss seemed to have been coming out from underneath the dried out black blood. He began to breathe heavenly.

"This can't be happening. I can't be dying. No! It can't end like this!" he started rambling again. Tears began to well up from his eyes. So many things began to race through his mind. His death, his funeral, the unspoken goodbyes, empty accomplishments...Cindy. His mind stopped to her. He never even got to tell her how he felt. _I__f I die, she will never know how I feel and how I have always felt about her. _He heard some commotion going on on the other side of the door. He took one last glance at his slumbering body and walked back to the door from which he had come from.

To his surprise, when Jimmy opened it, it was no longer that same dark realm that he had woke up in earlier. But instead it was the hallway of his house. "Huh?" he said to himself in confusion. Although he had no idea what was going on, he walked down the empty hallway anyways and tiptoed down the stairs. He smiled sadly at the picture frames of him and his parents as he continued. Voices seemed to be coming from the kitchen. They sounded like his mother and father.

Jimmy rushed towards the swinging door that led to the kitchen and found both Mr. and Mrs. Neutron sitting on the table drinking a large mug of coffee. His mother's face was sick with worry while his father tried his best to keep calm.

"Everything's going to be fine sugar booger." Mr. Neutron said taking his wife by the hand. "Jimbo's been in way worse situations than this. Remember when he turned into that giant green monster and destroyed the entire town?" he reminded her. Jimmy looked down to the floor and remembered. He was close to killing off his friends if hadn't been for Cindy. And..actually..to this day, he still can't remember what she did to change him back.

"I know Hugh. But I just can't help but worry. His experiments always tend to go wrong and..what if this time it seriously hurts him." she said to her husband as she wiped away more tears.

"Sugar booger this is Jimmy we're talking about. He's a genius. There is nothing I've seen that that boy couldn't overcome. I'm sure by tomorrow he'll be as healthy as a horse." Mr. Neutron said brightly. Jimmy couldn't help but smile at his dad's remark. No matter what the situation is, he can always count on his dad to find the positive in everything. Those are the qualities that he loved the most about him. It made him hope that one day he can be just like his father. Jimmy's smile faded. If there even was a 'one day' for him..

"Mom?" Jimmy whispered. She looked at Mr. Neutron and smiled at him.

"I sure hope so Hugh. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost him." she said shaking her head at the thought.

"Mom. Dad. I'm right here!" Jimmy said a little louder. Both ignored his calls and sat in the table in silence.

"Mom!" Jimmy yelled. "Please look at me! I'm right here!" Jimmy pleaded. His eyes were filled with tears. He rushed over to his mother's side. "Guys I'm right here-" he stopped in the middle of sentence and gasped. His lips began to quiver as he attempted to touch his mother's arm again. But it was as though he was some sort of hologram because each time he tried to touch her, his fingers would slip right through her body. He breathed rapidly in a panic.

"Mom! Please I'm right here! Listen to me!" Jimmy yelled with tears running down his face. His mother sat where she was and took another sip of her coffee. Without even acknowledging the fact that her son stood right next to her.

"Mom Dad! Help me please!" Jimmy cried at the top of his lungs. "It's me! Your son, Jimmy! Please! Please! Please! I'm right here! Mom! Mom!" Jimmy threw himself on the floor and broke into a sob.

** "Mom! It's your son Jimmy! I'm here! Please help me blah blah blah, how pathetic..." **came a voice that echoed through the entire house but only Jimmy heard it. He lifted his head from his hands and looked around. No one but his parents were in the kitchen. The voice sounded so sadistic and the tone that was used almost looked like if it were mocking his cries. Jimmy rose from the floor and straightened himself up.

"Who are you?" Jimmy called out.

**"That's irrelevant...the real question you should be asking is, who are 'you'?" **the voice said again. It sounded like a male voice almost similar to the wolf's except younger and actually.. almost similar to his own voice. He looked at his parents once more and left the kitchen.

"I'm Jimmy Neutron." he said with more authority. "And I'd like to know who you are and what are you doing inside my head." Jimmy said walking back up the stairs.

"**_Yes I am in your head, but that's not why you can hear me._**." he said. Jimmy walked through the door and looked around.

"Then do you mind filling me in?" Jimmy asked impatiently.

**_"Your getting warmer..keep searching and you shall find me..._**" the voice said.

Jimmy groaned and scanned his room. It wasn't that big so it shouldn't be hard. That's when he noticed that light was glowing inside his closet door.

**_"Looks like this won't take long after all.."_**

He walked to the door another stream of white light hit his face and caused him to put his hands over his eyes. He opened the door all the way and took in the sight. What should have been the inside of his closet, was actually a narrow glass room. The lights that hung from the ceiling caused the room to flash before him. The entire room was empty except for a large brown recliner chair at the far end.

Jimmy stepped forward. He heard munching noises coming from the other side of the chair. Something was eating feverishly ahead of him. He cleared his throat in order to get it's attention. It stopped eating almost immediately.

**_"Don't be afraid. This is after all, your mind..." _**He said finally. His back still faced Jimmy so he wasn't able to see who or what it was.

"What is this place?" Jimmy asked after a long pause. He heard a swallow.

**_"Welcome to the in-between..."_** he said waving his hands around.. Well at least they looked human.

"What's the in-between?" Jimmy asked even though he felt he knew the answer. A chuckle echoed through the room.

**_"C'mon Jimmy. I know you're smarter than that."_**

"..."

**_"The in-between is the state when your body is between life and death. Right now your body is in a coma and your mind is...well obviously your mind is here."_** he answered almost impatiently.

"Why am I dying?" Jimmy's voice trembled.

**"I think you know why.."** he said quietly. He wiped away his tears and made a loud sniff.

**"Now don't start with your whimpering! Man up! I said you are dying. I never said that you were actually going to."**

"How do I stop it?" Jimmy asked boldly.

**_"You can't control your destiny! If you are meant to live, then you will. It is not up to you..." _**

"I could care less if it's up to me or not! I'm not just gonna sit around and let myself die!" Jimmy shouted.

**"You have a stubborn mind. I like that. But there's nothing I can do to help you. For now, waiting is your only ally." **he said calmly.

"What exactly determines whether I live or die?" Jimmy asked with another sniff.

**_ "That my dear fellow, is something that has always been a mystery to us. The venom that is currently coursing through your blood is the one that chooses who it wants for different reasons. Whether it be your brilliant mind or valiant heart or any specific type of character that draws it's attention. But then again...you yourself have to survive even after it chooses you."_** he explained. The chair still covered whoever it was that was speaking to him.

"And how exactly does that work?"

**"When the venom chooses you, your heart will stop for a short period of time. But depending on how strong you are, your mind must still be alive long enough for the change to occur. Once it does, if you have not died completely by then, your heart will start up again and everything will be back to the way it was...well at least almost back to the way it was.." **he finished off that last sentence bluntly.

"What happens if I do survive?" Jimmy asked quietly. The voice sighed in annoyance.

**_"You become different..completely different."_** he answered with a chuckle. "**_You will become a monster. If you survive this, a beast will live within you for as long as you live. And it will destroy everything you once held dear to you.." _**

"And what if I choose to be different?" Jimmy said reluctantly.

**_"That's impossible my dear friend..even if you tried, you can't help what you will be..it won't work."_**

"I've delt with this kind of thing before. If I did it once, I can do it again."

_**"As I recall, Cindy was the one who helped you recover. If she hadn't snapped you out of it, you would have never found yourself..**" he said._

Jimmy's stomach jolted at this response. "H-how do you-"_ "__**How do I know about that? Oh my dear boy, I know a lot more than you think. In fact, I can just hear everything that is running through your mind right now. About how you can just easily run tests on the wolf that bit you and somehow find a cure that would solve whatever it is that is going to happen to you. Let me bring you back into reality..not going to happen. This isn't like when you and your silly little friends had your N-men powers. This is not caused by any kind of radiation. So sorry to burst your little bubble Einstein, but it ****will not work.."**_

"I will find a way to make it work." Jimmy said with determination.

**_"Ha! You fool! No matter what you try it will fail. If you come out of this alive, the beast will take you over no matter what you do. You can ignore it, you can fight it, but in the end, you will abide to it. And you will become the one thing that you always said you would never be.."_** he stated. Jimmy looked away and did everything he could to block out the last two words the voice finished off with.

**"...a killer.."** he said with almost and evil laugh.

"You're wrong." Jimmy declared with anger in his eyes. "I will never be a monster! Never!" he shouted.

**_"I wish you were right..but you will have no choice.._**" the voice sighed. He started to hear munching noises again. Whatever was sitting behind the chair must have been eating again.

"How would you know anyways!" Jimmy spat. The munching stopped. Followed by a smacking of the lips and then the sound of something being tossed onto the floor. It almost sounded like a bone.

**_"You'd be surprised how much I know Jimmy Neutron._**(finally turns the chair around to face Jimmy)**_Or should I say, how much 'we' know?"_**

Jimmy took a step back and nearly passed out again from shock. "No.."he gasped.

**_"Oh yes, my dear Jimmy. You and I have a lot more in common than you think."_** he said with a devilish smirk. Jimmy took a good look at him and felt his mouth go dry again. How was it possible that another Jimmy sat in front of him with the most evil look he had ever seen. He must be dreaming.

**"Yes, this is in fact a dream, but that doesn't mean that I am not real." **the other Jimmy said as he read his mind.

Jimmy gaped at him. They looked almost identical to eachother. Except that this one..he looked so..unhuman. His face was pale and his eyes were not the same ocean blue color that they always were. Like the wolf, they were glowing yellow. Like his unconscious body, his veins were also black and popping out all over his face and hands. But since he was wearing his old lab coat, Jimmy couldn't tell if the veins looked like that on the rest of his body. His hair was completely ruffled up and shaggy. Jimmy also noticed that his shirt and lab coat were covered with blood all over. The trail of the red liquid spread all the way up from his neck, and then remained smeared all over his mouth He grinned at him and revealed his canine sharp teeth which were also stained. Jimmy also noticed little bits of meat stuck between his teeth.

**"Like what you see?" **he asked Jimmy after giving him a chance to look at him.

"Who are you." Jimmy breathed. He still couldn't believe what was in front of him.

**"I think we have already answered that question. I'm sure by now you would have figured it out."** he said leaning back comfortably against the chair.

"So you're...me? But why do you look-" **"Like a monster?" **Jimmy nods his head.

**"I'm the you that was born the second you were bitten. How else would you explain the unexpected outbursts you have been having lately? It's the new and improved you..the one that will control you for the rest of your life.." **he smiles.

"And if I don't let you?" Jimmy asked defiantly.

He laughed once more which echoed through the entire room. He grabbed his stomach in order to control his laughter. "**_Haven't we already gone through this same pointless conversation? I already told you. You don't have a choice my dear boy."_**

"We always have a choice.."

**_"Yes well unfortunately for you, this isn't one of these 'always' moments. You cannot change...the damage has already been done."_** he began to laugh madly again.

Before Jimmy could say anything, something caught his attention from behind the chair. He noticed another trail of blood on the floor. His eyes followed it until it led up to a large pile off...his knees sank to the floor. A pile of bodies remained lifeless behind the other Jimmy's chair. He recognized them to be his friends. Carl, Sheen, Libby, and Cindy. He grit his teeth and blocked out whatever tears were trying to escape him. The sight was too much for him. All four of his friends lay there, blood drenching them from head to toe. Their bodies were torn apart and it looked like their insides had been taken out. Jimmy right away connected the dots and looked fiercely at the demon before him who watched him quietly with no expression.

Before Jimmy knew it, he lunged at the Jimmy sitting on the chair and began wailing on him.

"What did you do to them?!" Jimmy screamed. He had him pinned down to the floor. All the other Jimmy could do was smile at him. This infuriated him even more and resulted in more punches to the face.

**_"I think the real question here is, what did 'we' do to them."_** the other Jimmy corrected.

"I had no part in this!" Jimmy yelled. He held up the other Jimmy by his shirt collar and moved him closer to his face.

**_"In case you forgot Jimmy, we are the same person."_**

"I didn't do this! I'm not like you!" he shouted wiping away more tears with his sleeve.

**_"Are you sure..."_**he asked calmly. That was when Jimmy noticed his reflection on the glass wall. The glass showed him from away, but something looked different about his appearance. He released the other Jimmy and stood up from the floor. He slowly walked to the wall and looked at the mirror image of himself. He was wearing his lab coat with his red Neutron shirt with the same blue jeans he always wore but...everything...it was covered in blood. His mouth as well. And his eyes..they were suddenly glowing. When Jimmy looked at his reflection, he wasn't himself...he was..

**"I hope now you understand Jimmy Neutron. You and I are the same person," **Jimmy whipped around and couldn't see the other Jimmy anywhere in sight. He was left alone in the room.**_ "You and I both killed your friends. And as you can see, we ate them as well. That's just what we are. Predators, killers, monsters. There's nothing else to it."_**

"Where are you?!" Jimmy demanded threateningly.

**"I'm inside you. I always have been. And I always will be.."** he answered flatly. His voice still echoed clearly through the room.

"Your making no sense! You were just here a minute ago!"

**_"I don't need to make sense.."_**

Jimmy looked over to whatever was left of his friends. He took in the sight of their mangled bodies and burst into tears. He sat on the floor and grabbed onto Cindy's body which was stacked up at the top. Her emerald green eyes still remained open and lifeless. All of them were. He stroked her hair gently between sobs.

"I promise I'm not gonna be like him. I will never become a killer." he whispered burying his face into her hair.

**"Your time has come Jimmy Neutron." **his voice boomed in again. This time it was so loud that it caused all the glass in the room to vibrate. Jimmy gripped tighter to Cindy's body.

Before Jimmy could respond, a giant gush of wind rushed into the room. Jimmy could barely keep his eyes open to see what was happening. Everything in the room started to evaporate as the wind became stronger. It sent a chill up his spine. He felt Cindy's body slip through his fingers. He opened his eyes as best he could in time to see her body, along his three other friends, evaporate into thin air. Another gush of wind sent him flying across the room. He opened his eyes and the room was gone. Instead it was replaced with the same void he woke up in before. It felt cold.**  
**

Jimmy crossed his arms in attempt to stay warm.

**_"Your judgement has finally come Jimmy Neutron,"_** the other Jimmy's voice came in. **_" you are only seconds away from the venom finally reaching your heart."_**

Jimmy said nothing. He only closed his eyes and listened to the darkness. He put his hand up on his chest. He could feel it. He could feel his blood coursing through his body. Then there it was. Jimmy focused all his energy onto the sensation. Something thick was moving past his blood stream. How he was able to feel it, was a question far beyond him. It made it's way slowly though his arteries until finally..

He fell to the floor clutching onto his chest. The pain seemed to send a shock wave all over his body. His heart had stopped pumping. He yelled in pain. Completely unable to move from where he currently was. He felt as if all the air in his lungs were being sucked out of him.

Out in the distance was a bright light. It was coming towards him.

**_"Now Jimmy Neutron, let us decide your destiny." _**was the last thing he heard before passing out.

The light came to him in a matter of seconds. A flash came over him and engulfed him within it. Then..total silence. He was gone...

**End of Chapter 6 **

**This was a tough one. I hope everyone is enjoying this so far. Leave your reviews! Thanks again for taking the time to read my story. Loving all the support! **


	7. The Morning After

**At last, I am finished with this chapter! Hope you will all enjoy what I have written.**

**Helpful Note: Pay close attention to the new characters that will be mentioned in this chapter. They will have a very important role for what will lie ahead in this story!**

Chapter 7: The Morning After

He felt like he'd been asleep for an eternity. Every time he attempted to open his eyes, they would always feel so heavy and refused to let him see anything beyond the strange colors that would swirl around his closed eye lids. Then eventually, he would drift back off to dream land. Most of the time, they would be nightmares. And it was always the same thing over and over. Either someone was hunting him, or he was hunting them. Anything other than that, he would have no recollection of. As the dreams progressed, they often let him wonder if he was dead and imagining or alive and dreaming. All of them felt so real. The physical exhaustion, the pain that would inflict his body whenever he was wounded or attacked, and the emotion he would feel sometimes felt too much for it to be a dream. There, he has experienced true fear_._

_He woke up in a forest somewhere far away. It was too dark to decipher exactly where he was. He looked through the bundle of bushes he was hiding in. The dirt was cold beneath his naked body. Where his clothes was? He had no idea. He checked his injured foot. The bite was gone. This was indeed a dream, Jimmy confirmed._

_He heard light foot steps pacing quickly in his direction. He was being chased. Jimmy sighed in annoyance. Not this again, he grumbled to himself. There was no time to figure out his location. Right now, someone was after him. Action first, ask questions later. That's how it always had to be ever since he went under a coma. Leaves began to crackle in the distance. They were coming. _

_Not wanting to waste anymore time, Jimmy went on his knees and began crawling through the bushes. Whoever was hunting him was coming north, which meant he had to go in the opposite direction. Every few seconds or so, Jimmy would pause and listen to the night. Although the foot steps were incredibly silent, he could still hear them running towards him. They got louder. He had to hurry._

_He couldn't risk being spotted. Even if they knew where he was, they still wouldn't be able to see him. Fortunately, it was dark enough to make it more difficult for them. That gave Jimmy the advantage. But from past experience in his other dreams, they were still incredibly smart and clever. They knew exactly how to lure him into a trap. He had to think fast._

_"Think Jimmy think!" he said out loud to himself. He looked around desperately. The trees were huge and strong enough to climb on, but not enough leaves to cover him up. They could easily shoot him on sight. No more time to waste. Jimmy scrambled to his feet and began running. His speed was something that, for some reason unknown to him, increased since he has been asleep. It wasn't always the best thing to do in these situations. It made him an easy target, but he needed more time to figure out what to do . Jimmy dashed through the tall bushes and making a lot more noise than he wanted to. Although he was now an amazingly fast runner, he still had trouble controlling his velocity, along with his coordination. Every plant and tree seemed to fly past him in a matter of seconds__. He had to be careful to dodge large rocks, plants, and any other thing that came across him in order to keep a fast pace. He started moving faster and faster. It wasn't until a large root sticking out from the dirt, which he failed to see, caused him to trip and land hard on the ground. He rolled several times before finally coming to a halt. The impact knocked the wind out of him. Dusting the dirt off of his body, he stood up and looked through the forest and still saw only darkness..and of course the trees. Silence. He focused his ears. Still silence._

_"Where'd they go?" he asked himself. He slouched down on his knees to allow the air to return back into his lungs. He had no ideas how fast or how far he had gone and wondered maybe if he had out ran them. Just as quick as they were, he was ten times faster. Jimmy's reflexes kicked in and forced him to duck to the ground right before a long silver arrow was aimed and fired at his head. The arrow struck one of the trees next to him instead. Body still spread to the ground, he scanned the area. Almost a good 10 yards east from him, he saw the figure whom he assumed was the one that had been chasing after him. They stood above a boulder wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. They looked like any other normal person. Except that they had a cross-bow aimed high and ready. They were about to fire again. Jimmy rose from the floor and began to run. Arrows suddenly seemed to be flying in all directions. It seemed like a never ending rain. He remained on his toes and ducked through every arrow that came his way. There were too many of them. He looked around in fright. Many more hunters had started appearing out of the mist. All of them shooting at him. The more they appeared, the closer they were getting. How did they all manage to be there without him even noticing? They had a tendency of doing that. The hunters were very skilled at hiding and remaining quite enough to ambush someone._

_He leaped behind a tree for cover. The arrows continued coming out from all directions. Jimmy hugged the tree and pressed his body up against it in order to protect himself. He was panting. This was only going to end in two ways. Either he would have to experience the horrible felling of death again like he had done for the past twenty four or so hours, or he would have to kill them. He gulped. Neither of them sounded all too pleasant. The killing them part was not a decision of his. His body for some reason just became possessed in some near death situations at times and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by dozens of shredded bodies. And before he could react to what he was done, he was off to some other dream. But right now, the hunters have not killed him and he has not killed them. He looked behind him and noticed a river flowing by just beyond the hill._

_"If I could make it passed the river, maybe I'll lose them." he said to himself. But he knew it would be useless. This was a dream for crying out loud. Or at least he believed it was. If he did make it across, the hunters will still continue to appear. Even if these were his own dreams, he never had control of how they turned out. There was no choice then. Jimmy closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths. His body felt a shiver as the cool night breeze hit him. If only I had some clothes. He opened his eyes and began sprinting up the hill. His speed began to catch up with him. But this was no time to lose control. If he was gonna make it to the river, he had to keep the pace a little slower and make sure it doesn't increase. Enough to avoid the arrows darting right at him, but not too much to cause him to crash into something he had not seen. Within a few short seconds, he made it to the lake and jumped inside. The water was freezing cold. He felt a thousand knives stab every inch of his naked skin. He opened his mouth to yell and closed it immediately remembering that he was under water. With no time to waste, Jimmy began to kick and paddle across to the other side._

_He grabbed onto a rock that rested at the edge of the surface and hoisted himself up. His whole body was trembling from the cold. His hair dripping water over his face. The dirt had already begun to smear all over his wet body and formed mud in private areas, which made him even more uncomfortable. Jimmy turned to see the other side of the river and saw only one hunter again. This time they did nothing. Only stared. He squinted his eyes at the figure across from him to try to identify who it might be. But at the angle they were standing from the moon, and the darkness they were trapped in only let him see their silhouette figure. It began to move towards him. But in a much slower pace this time. The hunter seemed rather calm. Jimmy rose to his feet and started running. If the hunter seemed unfazed by his attempt to escape, then he was playing right into their game. If only he could figure out how this game will end and why he was even a player to begin with._

_He ran without even looking where he was going. Just as long as it was as far away from that hunter as possible. Jimmy turned back to see if the hunter had been following him. There was no sign of anyone behind him. He used this moment to stop his running and take a break. As soon as he stepped over a pile of leaves just as he was about to catch his breath, something from underneath jumped out and caught his right foot. It tore through his skin with it's sharp spikes and he felt a painful snap between his shins. Jimmy fell down but was unable to move his foot away from whatever was grabbing onto him. The insufferable pain was too much for him. He looked down and saw a steel-jaw leghold trap attached deep inside his foot. The blood began gushing out immediately. There was nothing he can do now but yell out of agony without even paying attention to who would hear him._

_Jimmy couldn't so much as move his foot without causing discomfort. Out of the mist surrounding the spot he was hiding in, came the figure of the same hunter who had been following him all night. Ignoring the searing pain of his leg, Jimmy looked up at the hunter before him. This time, taking in their entire look. It was in fact, a women whom had been after him. She looked quite young in his eyes. She looked about sixteen or so judging by her figure and how young her face looked. She wore a simple white button down blouse with a black leather jacket. Along with blue skinny jeans and a pair of black long leather boats. Her long blonde flocks flew with the rhythm of the wind. The ends had been curled to perfection. It gave him the chills the way she looked at him. Her eyes were dark blue and stone cold. Her lips curled. Even though he was going through extreme pain at the moment, his self-conscious side kicked in and made him remember that this was a girl standing above him and he was totally naked. He carefully raised his left leg in attempt to cover up his crotch. She didn't seem to notice what he was trying to do. _

_"It's about time." she said softly. Her voice was silk, but at the same time strained. If he had known any better, it might have been Beautiful Gorgeous's sister. It could be a high possibility. She was extremely beautiful, but also looked insanely evil. _

_"What do you want with me?" Jimmy asked between gritted teeth. She bent down and was now at eye level with him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead._

_"You know what I want." she whispered in his ear. She spoke to him so seductively and with a menacing tone. It made the hairs behind his neck stand up._

_"News flash mamm, I don't!" he yelled with a little more courage._

_"What I want, is for the world to be clean from you vermin who dare walk this planet along with the rest of us."_

_"What are talking about? I am no vermin!" Jimmy protested._

_"Your kind are ruthless killing machines and the world is better off without you. That's what we do. We kill those who do not deserve to live. And you are one of them." she said cold heartedly. _

_She rose again and put her cross-bow down on the floor next to her. She turned her back on him and paced around the area. She was in no hurry whatsoever. He was trapped and there was no way he would escape._

_"If I'm a ruthless killing machine like you say I am, then what does that make you? I haven't hurt anyone and yet I'm here under your captivity. Do you think just because I am different than others, it gives you some kind of right to do this? I am no monster you are!" he spat to her with anger. Tears began rushing down his face uncontrollably. Not because he was angry, but because of pain that was inflicting between his broken bones. His thick black blood had drenched every inch of the trap's spikes along with the dirt that he was laying on._

_She kept her back to him and looked up at the moon. "What we do is exterminate pests like you. And if that makes us monsters in your eyes then so be it. We rid the world of all that is evil for the sake of mankind. And it does not matter if you haven't hurt anyone yet. Eventually you will. It's just in your nature and you can't help it. Rather than wait for you to kill, it's better off if we just kill you before you convert into your true animalistic self." she pulls out a pistol from her back belt. Jimmy eyes the pistol fearfully. She circled around him slowly. Carefully watching his every movement._

_"You should be thrilled that I'm killing you so quickly. Normally we keep you locked up and torture you for months or even years depending on how much value you have to us. But since you are just a boy, I've decided to show you mercy." she said noticing his tense behavior._

_"Who are you?" Jimmy asks after a long silence. The women stopped where she was pacing. _

_"I might as well tell you since your about to be killed anyways.(Jimmy gulps) My name is Penelope Chasseur. My family has hunted your kind for centuries and we are quite famous for it." she answered cocking the hammer of the gun. _Click. _She aimed it right at Jimmy's head._

_Now..any last words, Jonas Felton?" she asked mockingly. Her question completely threw him off. _

_"Wait, did you just call me...Jonas? That's not even my name." Jimmy said in confusion._

_"Of course it isn't." she said sarcastically. She twisted the gun side ways and smiled cynically at him. "Good riddance." she said pulling the trigger. The bullet hit Jimmy between the eyes before he could respond back. The impact knocked him backwards and left his body there, dead. Blood trickled down his forehead and over his eyes. Penelope put the gun away and pushed her bangs back. She dusted her hands off, picked up her cross-bow, and walked back into the darkness of the night. Her work here was finished..._

His eyes fluttered open instantly. He lifted himself up for the millionth time and looked around. Squinting his eyes from the glare of the sun. He was back in his room. Was he dead this time? He looked over to his bed side while rubbing his temples. There, he found a ham and cheese sandwich waiting for him along with a glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. His stomach growled at the smell of food. He hadn't eaten for a very long time. Jimmy hesitantly grabbed the sandwich and took a bite of it.

Still unaware if this was a dream or not. He took another giant bite out of it, and then another, and then another. He couldn't control how fast he was eating the sandwich, for his hunger had taken over him. He desperately crammed the entire sandwich into his mouth. He grabbed the batch of cookies and began devouring them desperately while drinking up his milk in one giant gulp. It tasted a little to warm. Like it had been sitting there for a while. But this was no time to be picky. He set the glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. If this was a dream, it has been the first to offer him food. He jumped at the sound of his alarm clock ringing loudly at the top of his dresser.

Jimmy stood up and walked over to it. 7:30 a.m. He scratched his head in confusion. Just a few moments ago, he had been shot in the head and now he was sitting in his old bedroom and now apparently, about to be late for school? That's when he realized that his body actually felt...great. He pulled up his jeans from his left leg and noticed that the bite mark was gone. It disappeared without leaving so much as a scar.

"It's gone.."Jimmy gasped._ Could this really still be a dream? _Ignoring the persistent beeping sound that came from his alarm clock, Jimmy looked himself in the mirror and removed his shirt. Everything seemed normal. All the abs and muscle tone he had been working on for the last two summers remained glowing back at him. As if he was never sick. The paleness was gone and replaced with his old natural slightly tan skin color. Usually in his other past experiences, he never really had to time to get a glimpse of what he looks like since he was always being chased. And also, he was no longer deep in the woods somewhere, butt-naked. It seemed like no one was after him at this point. He heard some noise coming from downstairs. Taking the opportunity that he was in his room, Jimmy opened up one of the drawers and took out a white V neck shirt and another pair of pants.

Once Jimmy was changed, he opened the door quietly and walked into the hallway. He couldn't help but smell the scent of oatmeal and cinnamon. He really hoped this wasn't a dream. He was still insanely hungry. He crept down the stairs and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. The last time he saw his house, it was when he discovered that he was in some kind of strange void or dimension..he couldn't really figure out what it was. His other self wasn't that specific about what the place was. It also reminded him of all the bodies that were...Jimmy blinked away a tear before it started to run down his cheek.

"It was just a dream." he assured himself through a whisper. But even _he_ wasn't so sure what was real and what wasn't. He could be dead right now for all he knew. _If this is really what happens when you die, then it must really suck! _His mother's voice came from inside the kitchen. Jimmy pressed his ears against the door to hear what she was saying. No words came out of her. Only the sound of her humming to a happy tune as she put dishes into the sink. He could hear his father mumbling whatever he was reading out loud. Taking a deep breath and hoping this wasn't like before, Jimmy pushed the door open and stepped inside. His father was sitting at the very edge of the table with his face buried in what he assumed was today's newspaper. The bowl of oatmeal still remained in front of him. He didn't blame him for not eating his breakfast. Mr. Neutron always had an extreme dislike for oatmeal. He'd rather have pie instead. His mother however, loved it. He looked over to Mrs. Neutron, who was over at the sink washing the rest of the dirty dishes. None of them even noticed that Jimmy had walked in. Something inside of him told him to just go back up to his room. For the fear that they might not see him like they did last time. He had to know.

"M-m..m-Mom?" he croaked fearfully. _Here we go_, he breathed nervously. Mrs. Neutron right away stopped what she was doing and turned around to face her son. Mr. Neutron dropped the newspaper in front of him.

"Sweetie! You're okay!" his mother gasped happily. She ran over to Jimmy and embraced him in a tight hug. He returned the favor. It has been so long since someone has given him any kind of affection and for once, he was grateful for it. He missed his parents more than he could ever imagine. "Oh thank goodness! I was so worried! For a while I thought you were...(she hesitated for a moment) Never mind that," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What matters is that you are here and you are alright."

"See what I told you sugar booger? Jimbo's fine!" his father said happily. "You gave us quite a scare there son."

"I know. I'm sorry you guys. I guess I didn't realize how strong this new and improved sick band was. I'll try to tweak it down a bit." Jimmy said. His mother gave him a soft smile.

"Would you like some oatmeal sweetheart? I made more incase you woke up." Mrs. Neutron said pointing at the pot that was on top of the stove.

"Yes please. I'm starving." Jimmy said eagerly. He took a seat by his father.

"How are you feeling Jimbo? I'm pretty sure better than yesterday huh?" Mr. Neutron asked him.

"Definitely. I feel as healthy as a horse." Jimmy said with a smile.

"Hey that's what I told your mother! She was so worried about you yesterday but I told her you'd be fine." his father winked at him.

_I know_.."Really? There was no need to worry. I had the situation under control." Jimmy lied.

"I knew you would. There's nothing that you couldn't handle on your own." his father said with a proud smile.

"Thanks dad. That really means a lot." Jimmy said thankfully. That answers _that_ question. It _was_ really his parents he saw sitting in the kitchen when he tried calling out to them. If that was real. Then what else was?

"Umm by any chance mom, have you heard from the guys? Or Libby or Cindy?" Jimmy asked trying to hide the desperation in his tone. The image of their mangled bodies appeared in his mind again. The worst thing he has ever seen in his life, and he was the cause of it. According to his other self.

"Of course I have. They were all so worried about you. It was difficult to get them to go home after we left you in your room. They have been calling non stop since you passed out yesterday. Cindy stopped by a couple of times to see how you were doing." his mother answered. She filled up a bowl of oatmeal and left it in front of Jimmy.

"She did?" Jimmy asked. He couldn't help but smile at this answer. _So they were all okay. Cindy is still safe. And she was even concerned about my well being. _Jimmy sighed in relief. Everything was gong to be okay then after all.

"Oh yes. She was so concerned about you. She even brought you a sandwich and a plate of chocolate chip cookies she said she made at home and brought them up to your room. I'm sure you saw them." Mrs. Neutron said. She eyed her son's expression. She could see the glowing smile that he was trying so hard to conceal from her. She knew how happy this made him feel.

"Yeah I did actually. They were the first thing I ate when I woke up." Jimmy mumbled between spoon fulls of oatmeal.

"That was very sweet of her. Such a nice girl." Mr. Neutron said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah. She is..." Jimmy mumbled with a smile. His mother looked at him with a knowing grin.

"So do you think you feel good enough to go to school? You really don't have to go today if you don't feel like it honey. I'm sure the school will understand." Mrs. Neutron said sitting next to Hugh at the table.

"No I feel great. I wouldn't miss school for the world." Jimmy said brightly.

He felt overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of being able to see all his friends. And being able to see _her _and her beautiful smile again. The girl who baked him cookies. The one who cared that he was sick. He had to see her again no matter what. Being so close to death and not knowing what could possibly happen next, made him think about all the things he cared about in life. And it was then that he realized that she was above everything else on his list. He cared about her more than anything else in the world. Even science. She was his everything. His entire world revolved around her. If it weren't for Cindy, he would have never gotten the motivation to improve his inventions. He would have never pushed himself to excel better in school. Everything he accomplished, everything he was and everything he wanted to do, was all for Cindy. It was all to get her attention. Even if it usually did the opposite effect that he was expecting, it was way better than getting ignored by her. He wanted to impress her and show her everything he was capable of doing. There was no one else he wanted in his life but her. She is the Juliet to his Romeo, the Rose to his Jack, the Page to his Leo, the Ally to his Noah.._.where did all these names come from? Oh yeah. All those stupid cheesy romance movies Cindy and Libby had forced us to watch shortly after her and Sheen started going out._ They both agreed that they didn't want anything to be different between the group just because they were dating, so they decided that we still have movie nights. Sheen, being the obedient/whipped boyfriend that he was, always let the girls pick out the movies. And Jimmy, being a good friend, went along with it. It was a drag at times, but as long as Sheen was happy with his girlfriend, then he and Carl were happy.

"If you say so sweetie. But if you start to feel sick, don't hesitate to call. I'd be more than happy to pick you up." Mrs. Neutron said fingering her mug of coffee carefully before taking a sip.

"I don't think that will be necessary. The sick band should have worn off by now. But I'll call if anything." Jimmy told his mother. He finished up the rest of his oatmeal and put his dirty bowl in the sink.

"Thanks mom." Jimmy said giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. "I should get going. It's almost 8. Don't wanna be late." he said taking a look at his watch.

"Want me to give you a lift son?" Mr. Neutron called out to Jimmy before he walked out of the kitchen.

"No thanks dad. I'll take the hover car like I always do." Jimmy responded. Mrs. Neutron gave her son a look.

"Ehhheeemm," she cleared her voice. "I hope you didn't forget what we talked about yesterday young man."

"Huh? Oh! Right.." Jimmy remembered. He had completely forgotten about his mother's wishes for him to stay away from science and all his other experiments for a while. "Well in that case, I may have to take on that offer dad."

"Fantastic! (Mr. Neutron stood up) Just let me get my car keys from the garage and we'll be out in a jiffy." he said grabbing his bowl.

Just as he was about to dump his plate into the sink- "Hugh." Mrs. Neutron said sternly. He turned to her and gave her an innocent look. They stared into eachother's eyes. She broke the gaze and eyes his bowl which was still full of oatmeal.

"But sugar booger you know I don't like this gooey stuff." Hugh said making a face at the bowl he was holding.

"It's not gooey stuff Hugh." Mrs. Neutron said.

"Oh really? Then what do you call this?"

"It's oatmeal. It's healthy and you are eating it." she scolded him.

"B-but.." Mr. Neutron pleaded but stopped in mid-sentence when he saw his wife cross her arms.

"Okay fine!" he exclaimed in defeat. He marched back to the table like a scolded child and began eating his food.

"No faces." Mrs. Neutron wagged her finger at her husband when she saw him gagging with every scoop that he took. His expression changed right away.

"I guess I should uhh...get my back pack from my room." Jimmy said leading himself out of the kitchen. He left his parents to their own devices. Goddard waited for him by the stairs. His tail wagged at the sight of his master.

"Hey boy! You miss me?" Jimmy kneeled down and allowed his dog to lick his cheek repeatedly. He was full of excitement.

"Bark! Bark!" Goddard responded sticking his tongue out.

"Common boy. Let's go upstairs."

They both walked up to Jimmy's room.

He was filled with relief that the nightmares were finally gone and everything seemed to have gone back to normal. It was a giant weight lifted off his shoulders. Jimmy looked around the empty space. Goddard jumped on top of the bed and watched him. He eyed everything and remembered. He turned to his closet and felt that cold chill again. Just to ease his paranoia and curiosity, he walked towards his closet door and pushed it open. It looked like any other normal closet. His pile of pants lay sprawled all over the floor while a few of his sweaters were hung up on the rack. The only thing beyond that was the cold hard wall in the back. At least it made him feel better to know that it was no longer the home of that horrible beast he had encountered.

His words suddenly appeared in his mind. _"And you will become the one thing you said you would never be...a killer."_ But everything was fine. He was home and he was happy, right? That doesn't sound like a killer. He hasn't even felt the urge to do anything bad. That had to be a good sign. Besides, Cindy and everyone else were okay and in the dream, they were dead. _Could it be possible that the dream was just an illusion and none of it was true? _Jimmy pondered to himself while staring into the dark closet. But it couldn't have been an illusion! He saw his parents worried in the kitchen. That couldn't have been part of it. _Or.. Was it?_ Jimmy shook his head_. This is getting to confusing. _This was a problem that, unfortunately, he could not solve by himself. He needed help. _But from who?_

The image of the wolf appeared in his mind. Jimmy snapped his fingers in realization. "That's it!" Jimmy said out loud.

"Bark?"

Jimmy turned around and noticed that Goddard was still watching him. "Oh sorry there boy. I was just thinking out loud." he said closing the closet door. "How's our little friend doing?"

Goddard opened up his chest. _"For the past twenty four hours, wolf has been no trouble. He remains quiet in his cage." _

"Good job boy. Thanks for keeping an eye on him." Jimmy said after reading the monitor. "Has he eaten anything?"

_"Yes master. He has been given large amounts of raw meat that I picked up at the super market."_

"Ok good. That's good." Jimmy whispered to hismelf while rubbing his hands together. "Any news on the break in?" he asked nervously.

_"Yes sir. Police suspect it was the beast, but could not confirm it. The mayor came looking for you yesterday for a short briefing on your search. You were unconscious at the moment, so your mother said you were not well."_

"And I'm guessing she also told him that I can no longer look for it?"

_"That is correct master."_

"Okay okay.." Jimmy said in a deep thought. "We have to make sure to keep this a secret boy. Got it? No one can suspect a thing. If the mayor finds out that I am keeping government property hidden in my lab, I can be in some serious trouble. Especially since I'm no longer authorized to find it."

_"Understood. Shall I upgrade the security?"_ Goddard asked.

"Yes. I want an eye scanner, finger print analyzer, and a voice activated lock on every door. And make sure the weapons for defense security is on and functioning. No one comes in or out but me. If Cindy and Libby got in so easily, we have to make sure we have top-notch security. Every door I walk through must automatically close, lock, and seal itself in. We can't be careless about this." Jimmy ordered.

_"What about Carl and Sheen?"_

"I've already risked enough by letting them see it. For now, they can't be allowed in the lab unless they are with me. But they cannot go anywhere passed the break room. I'm sure they'll understand." Jimmy said.

_"And what about the girls?"_

Jimmy knew when Goddard mentioned the girls in plural, he's really just referring to Cindy. He knew that he had told her that he won't keep things from her anymore. But things just got more complicated. But at the same time, he wasn't really keeping anything from her. She already saw the wolf and knew everything he knew..well almost everything. So it wouldn't technically mean he was hiding anything from her..just simply..not allowing her to see it anymore.

"Same goes for them. But again, it's only if I authorize it. Got it?"

_"Affirmative master. I'll get right on it._" Goddard said leaping off Jimmy's bed. He walked over to the wooden chair that sat by his telescope and picked up his back pack. His father would be calling him any time soon.

"Hey Jimbo? You ready to hit the road son?" Mr. Neutron asked meeting Jimmy at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah dad."

"Alrighty then!" Mr. Neutron opens the front door and he and Jimmy step out onto the porch. They walked to the drive-way where their blue mini van was parked.

"Just let me get the keys really quick." Mr. Neutron said as he walked to the garage door. Jimmy looked around and saw Goddard trotting towards the clubhouse.

"Actually dad, I just remembered that I had to grab something from the lab. It's my uhhh...book report..for class." Jimmy lied nervously. His father tried to read his expression to see if he was telling the truth or not. He wasn't really good at these kind of things so he decided to let it slide.

"Just be sure to hurry. Don't want you to be late." his father said walking to the garage. "I'll wait for you outside."

Jimmy right away ran to his clubhouse. Goddard was no where in sight. _He must have used the secret hatch next to his dog house again. _Before unlocking his door, Jimmy glanced around his house to make sure his mother wasn't watching. Unlike his father, Mrs. Neutron would see through his lie right away.

Before anyone interrupted him, Jimmy plucked a strand of his hair out and held it up to the DNA Scanner.

_"Hair scanning complete." _Vox's voice boomed from the door. "_Please focus eye on scanner._"she said just as another scanner appeared from the wall right in front of his face. _Wow, Goddard was quick to upgrade security._ He opened his left eye wide enough for the flash of red light to glow up and down his eyeball. The light disappeared back into the scanner.

_"Eye scan complete." _the scanner disappeared back into the wall and replaced with another small flat tablet.

_"Please press thumb firmly on screen."_ Vox ordered. Jimmy did as he was told and waited patiently for the process to finish.

The scanner finished its analysis and returned to its original place. A small microphone took its place only a few inches away from his mouth.

_"Please say voice activation password."_

_Crap. I forgot that I installed that password,_ Jimmy thought to himself. He looked around briskly to make sure no one was around.

"Shall I compare Cindy to a summer's day." Jimmy mumbled in embarrassment. No one can know about that password. He made a mental note to himself to change it once he had the chance. He would be caught dead if anyone especially Cindy ever heard it. The microphone went back inside the wall. He waited for a moment.

_"DNA and voice analysis complete."_ Vox said finally. _"Welcome Jimmy Neutron."_ the lab door swung open. He took a step inside. Just as he was about to shut the door behind him-

"James Isaac Neutron! What did I tell you about going inside your lab?!" Mrs. Neutron yelled. Jimmy jumped in fright at the sound of his mother's voice. He turned around right away and saw that cold stern look on her face. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She put her hands on her hips. "Well? I'm waiting for an explanation young man."

"O-uh..I-uh..I just needed to get something from the lab." he replied a little too quickly. His mother said nothing and only stared into his eyes. "Its a..its a book report for class."

"I know when you are lying Jimmy. Don't forget that I'm your mother. I know when my son is up to something and I know when he is lying. Goodness Jimmy! Can you please go one day without your lab?" she sounded a little disappointed with him. He lowered his head in shame.

"Now, you close that door and march right back to the driveway! Your father is waiting for you!" Mrs. Neutron ordered him. He walked back outside and closed the lab door obediently. His mother walked back into the house through the kitchen door while shaking her head in disapproval.

"How does she do that?" he asked himself as he walked towards the mini van.

The car was already on and he could see his father sitting on the driver's seat. "Move it along Jimbo! Before you rmother blows a gasket!" he waved from the window. Jimmy walked around the van and sat on the passengers seat. Mr. Neutron pulled out of the driveway and began driving into the street.

"Sorry about that son. Your mom has just been on edge ever since the whole monster thing happened on Saturday." Mr. Neutron said once they were on the road.

"You heard that?" Jimmy asked looking over to his dad.

Mr. Neutron nodded. "She's just worried son. Whatever she does, she does it because she cares."

"What? Not letting me do what I love most?" Jimmy asked raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Neutron smiled while keeping his eyes on the road. "Jimmy..(he sighed) ever since you were a baby, we always knew that you were special. Heck, you were only 8 months old and you already wanted to change your own diapers. Except that head of yours was literally to heavy for you to lift up.(Jimmy smiled) And then you were already one and a half and reading at a third grade level." Hugh made a right turn. "As you got older, your intelligence grew even more than we had thought it would. You built Goddard when you were five years old. We knew that soon you would feel tempted to build other things such as your rockets and all the other little inventions you have in your lab and we respected that. You're a genius after all. But to your mother, you're still her baby. And all she wants is for you to be safe."

"But I have always been safe dad. She doesn't need to worry about that."

"Jimmy no matter what, she will always worry about you. How do you think she used to feel when all those evil villains would be after you or when you would take off to your space adventures and all that stuff? She was always anxious until you got back. And don't even get me started on how she was acting when you and your friends got stuck on that island. Look..bottom line son, she's just tired of you constantly putting yourself in danger. That's why she doesn't want you doing anything science related. Whether it be the most simplest experiment or just riding in the hover car. She just feels she's doing her job as a mother if she limits you on these things." Mr. Neutron stopped at a red light and looked over to his son. Jimmy looked out the window.

He never really thought about how his mom felt when he would leave on his space trips. Mostly because he never asked her how she felt. He started to feel slightly guilty. All the stress and anxiety she must have gone through. What kind of son would do that to his mother? She respected his genius mind enough to allow him to build all his inventions and work on his experiments. So why can't he respect her request?

"I know its hard for you son. She just doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. A lot of your experiments don't usually work out as planned so just to keep you out of harms way for a little while." Mr. Neutron winked at his son.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Jimmy admitted. "Thanks dad."

"Anytime son. I'm here for you." Mr. Neutron smiled at him. He pulled over. "Guess this is your stop." he said pointing out Jimmy's window. He looked outside and realized that he was at school. Jimmy grabbed his backpack and opened the car door.

"Thanks for the ride dad!" Jimmy called out.

"No problem. Have good day at school." Mr. Neutron waved as Jimmy closed the door behind him. The van drove off.

Jimmy looked up at the building before him with a smile. The first bell had just rung and students began to pile up at the entrance. _The same old scenery, _Jimmy thought to himself. Everyone pushing and shoving eachother against the wall for fear of being tardy to class. That had a lot to do with the new dean of the school, Mr. Gaballini. He was a retired Vietnam veteran with a very short temper, who decided to take on the job for the simple pleasure of torturing the new generation of adolescents who attended the school. No one, not even Nick or Butch, ever dared to get on his bad side. Anyone caught in the halls after the tardy bell rang would be yelled at until they cried. Sheen learned from experience.

He tightened the strap of his backpack and trotted over to the giant crowd. It didn't take much time to get inside since everyone was in such a hurry. By the time he made it to his locker, he still had only three minutes to spare. Most of the students have already disappeared into their classroom.

It was only a second after he had put in his locker combination, that a sudden bang struck his ears so loud that it made him jolt on the spot. Jimmy turned from side to side and noticed someone all the way across the hallway who had just slung their backpack across their shoulder and ran off. Jimmy poked the inside of his ears as they ached over the deafening sound that just vibrated through his entire body. _How could something so far away be so loud?_ Jimmy thought. He opened up his backpack and began to pull out books from his locker. Another sound of a locker slamming, this time, caused him to drop his Advanced Biology text-book. The loud slam of the locker sounded like it had been pressed right up against his ears. Jimmy turned around again to see another student leaving their respective locker. Then two more bangs from across the hallway caused Jimmy to cup his hands over his ears to shield himself from his already aching ear drums.

_Ears must be a little extra sensitive today_, he thought. He picked up his text-book off the floor and hurried to put the rest of his notebooks inside his backpack. Having mostly advanced classes this year forced him to buy more material than the average student needed due to the many essays he had been assigned to write everyday for homework and classwork.

"Hey Libs. Sorry I'm late. I was up all night working on my research project for history and my stupid alarm clock didn't go off this morning." he heard that familiar blonde's voice. His heart raced once more.

"Don't worry about it girl. We still got two minutes and I hear Gaballini didn't even show up today." he heard Libby's voice say. He could hear them walking close behind him. He waited anxiously for them to acknowledge his presence. He kept his back turned.

"Uhhhh. Thank goodness!" Cindy breathed in relief. "I can use a day without having him harassing us."

"Word." Libby agreed.

They were so close and yet they still haven't said a word to him. Out of impatience Jimmy turned around to greet them.

"Hey lad-" Jimmy paused in confusion. The only person in the hallway was him. Everyone else was gone. "Huh?" He scratched the back of his head. _They couldn't have gone to class so quickly. They were right behind me._

_"_Any news on Jimmy yet?" he hears Libby's voice again. Jimmy looked around quickly, but they were no where in sight.

"No I haven't heard anything. I went over to see how he was doing last night, but his mother said he was still unconscious." Cindy answered.

Jimmy walked through the halls but still had no luck. They were talking about him and yet he couldn't find out where they were. Jimmy suddenly stopped in front of the large window just a few feet away from his locker. Something inside him just told him to look outside. And he did.

The sight of the two girls walking together outside towards the front entrance was both a relief and a feeling of total confusion. He wasn't hearing voices inside his head, which was a good sign that he wasn't crazy. But how did he hear them so close when they were only outside?

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure his invention was just working a little too strong on him. He's done this kind of stuff before. Remember when he made himself dumb right before a giant meteor almost destroyed all of Retroville?" Libby asked. He could hear her so clearly. He watched her lips mouth every single word that he heard ring through his ears. _How was this possible? Did I suddenly get excellent hearing abilities? _

He kept his face pressed up against the glass._  
_

"Yeah I know. Hope next time he doesn't overestimate his genius abilities. They don't always work out so well for us." Cindy shrugged. Something about the way she spoke made him feel like she was trying to sound less worried or frustrated than she actually was. He could see her face as she walked up the steps with Libby. Her face was emotionless, but her eyes told a different story. _Beautiful and mesmerizing as always,_ he sighed dreamily at her. Libby pushed the front doors open with a hard shove and they disappeared inside.

Knowing that the girls would be appearing through the halls any second, Jimmy quickly walked back to his open locker and finished packing his things.

"So what did he tell you anyways?" Libby asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Girl you know exactly what I mean. What did he tell you when he pulled you outside of the Candy Bar yesterday? I didn't want to ask you after...you know what happened because I knew you were still worried about him." Libby said.

"Okay first of all, I was NOT worried about him. My mom made me go see how he was doing so that way we looked like we were actually 'concerned about him', which would make us seem like good and caring neighbors (Jimmy's heart sank) And second of all, he didn't really say much. He only apologized for acting like an asshole the other night in the lab before he ended up passing out." Cindy explained. There was silence between the girls. He could just sense that Libby must have been staring at Cindy.

"What?" the blonde asked after a long pause.

"Do you honestly think I was born yesterday? I _know_ you Cindy. Why don't you just admit that you were worried about the boy?"

Jimmy felt some kind of hope spark inside of him.

"For the millionth time Libby! I do not, nor have I ever cared about...Neutron?" Jimmy heard Cindy's voice echo the hallway. He heard them stop walking. Jimmy turned around and found Cindy and Libby staring back at him in surprise. It took him a few seconds to process that Cindy had actually in a way spoke to him after her last sentence.

"Oh-h-hey you guys." he managed to say with a weak smile.

"Hey.." they said in unison.

Awkward silence.

"Didn't think you'd be back so soon." Libby said finally.

"Oh well yeah. Uhh..the effects were only supposed to last up to twenty four hours. So here I am, twenty four hours later."

"Never could miss a day of school could you brainiac?" Cindy said with her arms crossed.

"You know me Vortex." he said slyly. "I am the 'brainiac' after all."

"Yeah well don't let it get to that egoistic brain of yours just because you somehow managed to survive one of your many unsuccessful experiments." she responded. Although she was being sarcastically, he could tell that she was playing with him.

"Thanks Vortex I'll make a mental note of that." he said with a smile.

"Neutron! Vortex! Folfax! Get your butts to class before I give you one month of detention!" came the loud roar of the school dean which made Jimmy flinch. Mr. Gaballini appeared from the teacher's lounge a few feet away. For a sixty five year old man, he was quite buff. Gaballini stood at a good six feet tall. He gave Jimmy the image of an older version of coach Gruber. He wore a large grey old Nike T-shirt that was tucked under a pair of blue sweatpants, and a blue baseball cap that covered the white hairs on his scalp.

"Hustle! Hustle!" he bellowed as the three children hurried passed him. "If I catch any of you out on my hallways again, I will have you all eating lunch with me for the rest of the year! Pick up the pace Vortex! This isn't no stroll in the park!"

Cindy's jaw tightened at the sound of her name. "So much for having a day off." she huffed. Libby and Cindy waved their good byes since they both didn't have the same first period class together. Libby had graphic arts design and Cindy had American Literature. Which coincidentally, she had Jimmy for that class. He waited for them to part before he continued his walk alone with her.

There was silence between them. It wasn't until Cindy looked at Jimmy through the corner of her eye and noticed that he had been rubbing both his ears repeatedly.

"You okay there Neutron? Didn't blow out an eardrum with one of your explosives did you?" she asked.

"No I'm fine. My ears are a little sensitive to Gaballini's yelling that's all." he answered back to her.

The more he rubbed his aching ears, the more he could hear. Everything silenced so suddenly that he could only hear his own heartbeat. Then came another. It was almost at unison with his. Except, this heartbeat was going a little faster. Jimmy recognized the rhythm right away. He'd heard it many times while testing out his pulse analyzer on Carl and Sheen. He'd used it to hear how different the heart rate goes depending on what emotion someone was feeling. This one sounded almost identical to when Sheen got nervous when Jimmy called Libby and handed him the phone without even telling him who it was during one of their tests. Obviously, it was before they started dating. He felt guilty for having to trick Sheen like that, but he had to gather more data. He listened closely to the rythm of the other heart beat and then to his own. He realized then that it was Cindy's heartbeat he was listening to. _Is she..nervous?_

Jimmy looked over to her and the pulse began to rise loudly against his ear. That's when he noticed that she was snapping her fingers in front of him. His attention returned back to her voice.

"Hellooo? Earth to Nerdtron?" she hummed.

"Huh? Sorry I didn't catch that?" he asked distractedly.

"I asked you why you seemed so out of it? It's like your mind is somewhere else." Cindy repeated.

"Oh..well...yeah. Sort of. You know passing out for an entire day does really take up most of your train of thought." he chuckled. She bit her bottom lip in order to keep her self from chuckling as well, but still left him with the satisfactory of smiling back at him.

"Uhhh Cindy?" he asked nervously.

"Hmm?"

"I just umm..wanted to say thanks..for the cookies. And that sandwich. My mom said you brought them from your house yesterday." Jimmy said rubbing the back of his neck.

Cindy's eyes widened and she began to blush furiously. "Oh that hehe. It's nothing really. My mom was the one who made them and she had me check up on you to see how you were doing." she answered back nervously.

Jimmy listened in on her heart beat again. Still beating fast, but too fast for her to be nervous. _She's lying_, Jimmy concluded. He had to make sure he was right.

"So you weren't the one who made the cookies and the sandwich?" he asked sounding a little to skeptical than he had planned.

"No. I'm not really much of a baker." she hesitated. "Well, I kind of made the sandwich. It wasn't that hard really. I mean who doesn't know how to make a sandwich am I right?" Cindy laughed weakly.

Jimmy listened and nodded quietly. Her heart rate had changed while she spoke. She was half lying now. _But why would she lie to me? What was there to hide?_

"Yeah that's true. I wouldn't believe that the great Cindy Vortex wouldn't know how to do something as simple as making a sandwich." he joked. "But anyways it doesn't really matter who made what. Just wanted to express my gratitude so..thanks again. To you and to your mother. It was quite a delicious meal and I was really starving when I woke up." he smiled truthfully.

She felt a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. She bit the inside of her cheek in order to conceal the amount of happiness creeping on to her face. Although she lied to him in order to hide the fact that she was worried about and used her mother as an excuse to come over, it still felt good to be appreciated by him. Even if Jimmy didn't know that it was from her.

_Darn his cuteness!_ Cindy cursed to herself._ And that stupid smile of his that made me and almost every stupid girl in this school melt over him. _Never in her life had Cindy Vortex ever gone out of her way to do something nice for someone other than Libby. But then thinking back on the way he passed out yesterday, made her fear that something bad could have happened to him. She had to know how he was doing after what happened. She just had to. There was no way she could ever go on with her life if she had ever lost her Jimmy._ Great! Now you're calling him 'your Jimmy'. Way to go Vortex! You're turning into one of his tongue dragging drones!_

The final bell rang as soon as they set foot in their class. Jimmy jumped on the spot and pressed the palms of his hands against his ears. Cindy looked at him with an odd expression.

"Are you sure you're okay Neutron?"

"Affirmative. Like I said before. I'm just sensitive today." he said clenching his jaw and squeezing his eyes shut until the ringing finally ended.

"You said you were fine yesterday and look how that turned out." Cindy pointed out a matter-of-factly.

Jimmy sighed. "This is different. But if I do pass out then you have my permission to say 'I told you so' for the rest of the month."

Cindy gave him a sly smirk. "I will look forward to that." She walked passed him and went to her seat. He followed and took his seat only a few desks away from her. Everyone was so busy chatting to even notice that the two rivals actually showed a moment that didn't end up with them at eachother's throats.

Ms. Fowl, who surprisingly got a job offer at the middle school as an english teacher, pushed her chair aside and stood up from her desk. "Brrraaaawwwk. Goooddmorning chiilldreeeen. Please pass up yooouuurrr homework from last night braawwk!" she instructed.

The class silenced and did as they were told. A million zippers and sounds of crumbled papers entered Jimmy's eardrums once more. It wasn't as agonizing as the bell ringing or Gaballini's screaming, but he heard it so perfectly. He could hear the paper scratching up against the backpack's material as they were being pulled out and smacked on top of the desks. Butch was whispering to Oleander about copying his homework in exchange for not beating him up and stealing his lunch money. And even though Jimmy was sitting all the way in the front and Butch sat in the back, he could hear him as if he was sitting right beside him. Once everyone had their papers out, the class began chatting nonstop while Ms. Fowl took role.

It was incredibly annoying. Like a million Sheens sticking a tube through his ears and talking all at once about meaningless topics. He normally would ignore his classmates until his teachers decided to start with the lesson, but this circumstance wouldn't give him a choice. And he could understand every word that came out of their mouths. He rubbed his head in order to ease the migraine that was forming on his left temple. It seemed rather pathetic that most of his peers would rather waste their time talking about pointless things such as the newest episode of Vampire Diaries, or who wore it better on Fashion Police, which contested was voted off on The Voice, or even about how Brad Evans from history class asked Cindy out on a date-

_Hold up!_ Jimmy's eyes widened in a panic._ Did I just hear what I though I heard?_ He looked over at Cindy a few desks to the left from him and found Cindy talking to Nissa. His eyes narrowed and the volume of his hearing focused more on Cindy's conversation.

"Oh my gosh! He did what?!" Nissa asked excitedly.

"He texted me last night. I didn't even know if he still had my number. We only needed it because we were lab partners last year and we had a project to work on." Cindy replied rather calmly. He couldn't tell whether she was pretending to be relaxed and really hiding the fact that she was just excited about this as Nissa was, or she really didn't care.

"So tell me exactly what he said. Don't leave out a single detail!" Nissa said scooting her chair closer to Cindy.

"Okay so, I was in my room-"

"Braaawwwk that's enough students!" Ms. Fowl called out once she finished taking role.

"Gaaahhh for crying out loud!" Jimmy grumbled to himself in frustration._ Of all the times that Ms. Fowl has spent almost most of the period on her computer, she picks today to start the lesson on time when I was so close to hearing what Cindy was about to say about that foolish imbecile Brad!_

"Now for todayyy I'm going to haaavvee you choose braawwk! A paragraph from "The Fall of the House of Usher" from your textbook and write three paragraphs on what it means to you braaawwwk!" she announced. The entire class groaned. "Now now students...I know you all don't enjoy reading. But this story is quitteee..the thriller braawwk! Now please pass up your homework down the isles and I shall collect them."

"Great!" Jimmy said to himself bitterly."Now I have to spend the rest of the period reading another one of Edgar Allen Poe's stupid stories. Could this day get any worse?"

"Still talking to yourself I see huh Neutron?" Cindy teased as she walked by his table while coming back from stapling her papers at the front desk.

"What's it to you Vortex?" he spat darkly. She stopped and frowned at his expression.

"Umm what's your problem Neutron?"

"No nothing. Everything is fine." he responded sarcastically.

"Did you take a dose of cough syrup or something? Why are you acting all grumpy all of a sudden?" Cindy's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not grumpy! Now why don't you go back to your desk and continue talking about your little boyfriend again." Jimmy said angrily crossing his arms and looking away.

"Don't tell me what to do you little-"(pause) "Wait..you heard that?" Cindy asked in confusion.

"Oh please! The whole school heard you for crying out loud!" he hissed. Jimmy knew he was lying but there was no other way he would be able to explain to her how he could have heard her from such a far distance.

The confused look on Cindy's face evaporated and was filled with rage. "And what does it matter to you who I go out with Nerdtron?" she raised her voice at him.

"It doesn't! So go ahead and date a tiny brained human being who can't even count up to five for all I care! Just leave me alone and go out with your stupid boyfriend."

"For the record Neutron, Brad is more of an amazing and perfect guy than you'll ever be!" she spat with venom in her words.

"Fantastic!" he said sarcastically. "Then go and date him then!

"OKAY THEN MAYBE I WILL!" she screamed back.

The whole class was silent now.

"YEAH!" Jimmy shouted.

"YEAH!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

Cindy stormed off angrily while Jimmy kept his arms crossed and looked out the window with a frown. Everyone watched quietly as Cindy dumped herself on her desk and sighed before going back to their usual chit-chat. Normally, they just wait for the yelling between the two to end, and then go back to what they were doing.

"Like what was that all about?" Nissa asked.

"Nothing." she responded. "Just the usual bickering with the idiot teen genius."

At this point, Jimmy was far to angry to pay attention to Cindy's conversation. Instead, Jimmy took out his textbook and got straight to work as he uses up all the energy he had to listen in on Natasha and Amber's conversation on what they should wear tomorrow when they ask him out..again. He had to admit that he agreed with Natasha's idea of wearing a black tank top and an open button down blouse. It looked quite attractive to him when they were going out two months ago. He wouldn't mind seeing her in that outfit again.

"So anyways, back to Brad. What happened?" Nissa asked after giving Cindy some quiet time.

"Well he just texted me while I was in my room and said 'Hey Cin, it's Brad. I was wondering if you would like to go out to the movies on friday.'" Cindy said keeping her eyes on the ceiling.

"Oh my gosh that is so romantic!" Nissa squealed. "And you told him yes?"

"Actually, I turned him down." Cindy said quietly.

Nissa's eyes widened in horror. "Cindy! How could you turn down the second yummiest guy in school?! It's Brad Evans for crying out loud!" she exasperated.

Cindy made eye contact with Nissa. "Second? Who's the first?"

Nissa looked down at her shoes, then back to Cindy, and turned around and eyed in Jimmy's direction while biting the bottom of her lip. Cindy looked over to where Nissa was starring and saw Jimmy writing furiously on his desk while looking back and forth to his textbook._ He looks so cute when he's focused._ Cindy shook her head. _Snap out of it Cindy! Get a grip. _

"Seriously?" Cindy asked in disbelief while Nissa smiled weakly at her. "Neutron is **not** the yummiest guy in school."

"Well it's not our fault you don't see it." Nissa said defensively. "How could you**_ not_ **think he's yummy." she said looking dreamily back at him while putting her arm on her desk and using it to hold her chin up. "I mean he's tall, muscular, smart, funny, and he has those eyes that just sparkle everytime he smiles..oh god and that gorgeous hair of his..."

Cindy was quiet. Mostly because she was also being entranced by his very presence. She shook her head once more. "Nope. I don't see it." she said snapping Nissa out of her thoughts.

"Well then you must surely hate him if his beauty doesn't sweep you off your feet whenever you see him."

_Actually it does..._"He's not really my type. Maybe it's his giant ego that gets in the way." Cindy shrugged. "But it doesn't matter because I changed my mind."

Nissa turned to Cindy. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm going out with Brad Evans on Friday." Cindy declared. Nissa broke into a smile and squealed once more with joy.

"Seriously Cindy?! Oh I can't wait this is so exciting!" she clasped her hands together. "Me and Libby are gonna make you look so gorgeous. We can all go shopping on Thursday after school and find you an outfit!"

"Thanks. But I don't think that will be necessary. It's just a date to the movies. Don't wanna overdress or anything." Cindy smiled.

"Well if you change your mind, just call me. What made you wanna go out with him all of a sudden?"

Without Nissa noticing, Cindy eyed Jimmy while he remained burying his face into his textbook. She glared at the obnoxoius moron. "Just..thought it might be fun." she responded casually.

"Leapin Leptons these people were sick!" Jimmy muttered in disgust as he continued reading. "Who on Earth would write about something as revolting as incest?" he wrote down a few lines onto his notebook. "Well first off, I would have sent this writer into a mental hospital instead of allowing him to publish any stories." he said to himself.

He tapped his lead pencil against his mouth while thinking. Although he still felt like if there was a chatter box inserted into his brain, he had still somehow managed to ignore everything Cindy and Nissa were talking about. He could have sworn they mentioned his name once but that could have just been Cindy explaining the little argument they just had. His gazed suddenly turned to her as she began to read from her textbook. His heart went on rampage again. Watching as she continued her silent humming while reading that pathetic and disgusting story that he was supposed to be writing about. _Such sweet perfection_. He sighed._ And all of it going to waste for that idiot Brad! _Jimmy's pencil snapped suddenly against his fingers. Several classmates looked at him in bewilderment.

Jimmy smiled politely and took out a normal wooden pencil instead. _Wow. Gotta watch out for the strength there. I've been working out too much. Better lay off the protien shakes._ He went on with his reading and then eventually looked up at the clock. Only 8:30 in the morning. He groaned with impatience. This was indeed going to be a long day...

**End of Chapter 7**

**I know it's been a while, but finally got this chapter done. Sorry if you were expecting a little action somewhere. I promise more will come in this young genius' mission to find out what is going on with him. I'm sure most of you know by now, but Jimmy's a little on the slow side at times. Read and Review as usual! And I'll be back very soon!**


	8. The Longest Day

Chapter 8: The Longest Day

First period had dragged on so slow that Jimmy had to request to go to the restroom three times after finishing his work, just to pass the time. Something that he never does. In all his time in school, Jimmy never asked to be excused for anything, unless it was a life or death situation. So it was quite a bit of a shock for everyone in the class when he raised his hand and asked Ms. Fowl if he may use the restroom. It even worried some students that something terrible was about to happen...again. Normally whenever he finished all of his work early (which was like every day), he would work on other class assignments or continue finalizing blue prints on a new invention. But for some reason he could not find himself to think clearly. Whenever he would try to get his mind off of the blonde haired girl, who seemed like she was trying very hard to ignore him when he looked her way, it would work for a while but in the end, he would find something that would bring his attention back to her.

It would have been different if Carl and Sheen were in the same class as him. They would have easily distracted him with their never ending babbling about Ultra Lord and Llama boy. But unfortunately, they both had gotten surprisingly low test scores at the end of last year's state test, and were forced to take remedial english instead. Well, actually...it wasn't all _that_ surprising. He had a feeling this would happen when they arrived to class last year. Carl said he tried studying, but ended up watching the Wonderful World of Llamas instead and Sheen didn't even know they had a test that day. So not much of a shock that they didn't get decent scores. At least enough to get regular english. Now he was left alone in a class with his worst enemy/love of his life, a teacher who rather give the students something to work on individually other than to actually give a full oral lesson, and a group of girls who stare anxiously in his direction and who nearly have a heart attack everytime he gives them an awkward smile. After almost five months of being back in school, he was used to this routine already. But after his little falling out with Cindy, he couldn't find it in himself to stay in that class any longer. It was tearing him apart inside.

Jimmy walked around the school while at the same time, praying that he doesn't run into Gaballini again. For some reason the man didn't understand that if a student has a hall pass, that means that they _are_ allowed to be walking around the hallways during class. He remembers Carl telling him about the times that he was caught walking to the bathroom with his hall pass and still ended up getting detention. Even after explaining to him that he has a medical issue regarding his bladder and that he must use the restroom every two hours. Twice he was tortured by the dean during lunchtime. The only way to not get in trouble with the dean, even with a hall pass, was to avoid getting caught and staying out of his way. Carl made the mistake of walking to the second floor bathroom, where he usually patrols, and getting caught. It was a mistake Jimmy wasn't willing to make as well. He kept a rather short distance from the places he knew for a fact that Gaballini would be at.

As soon as Jimmy made it to his destination, he took a quick drink from the water fountain to get his bladder going before using the restroom. Might as well take advantage of the moment. He walked inside and thought about the one thing that had been knawing at him ever since the beginning of class, Cindy's date with Brad Evans.

"Brad Evans.." Jimmy uttered bitterly just to test out how the name tasted coming out of his mouth. It was horrible. Like someone forcing him to drink a tank of gasoline. _How could Cindy go out with an idiot like Brad? The boy had flunked twice and is actually supposed to be in high school already for crying out loud! Sure he was the captain of the basketball team, which is quite shocking since students are supposed to have good grades in order to participate in extra curricular activities. What did it matter? Cindy hates basketball! So why would she choose to go out with him!?_

_"Am I sensing a little jealousy?"_ a part of his mind asked.

"I'm not jealous!" Jimmy snapped to himself right away.

_"Are you sure?"_

"Yes I am sure! I just think that Vortex lacks sense when it comes to boys. I mean she always goes for the idiots with great hair! It gets irritating at some point! Honestly, she can do way better than that!" Jimmy fumed.

_"But who are you to judge boy genius? As I recall, you have dated almost every hot girl in this school who barely have half a brain enough to walk and blink at the same _time."

Jimmy sighed in frustration. He was right.

_"Of course I'm right.."_ the part of his mind said. _"You're just mad that she'd rather go out with a door knob than you. You're insanely jealous __and you know it."_

"You know what? Shut up." Jimmy said to himself angrily.

_"Ignore it all you want. I'm just stating the facts to you."_

He always hated this part of his mind. It always gave him the answers he didn't want to hear, but deep down he knew it was telling the truth. _Am I really jealous?_

_Well of course I am! I almost died just a few hours ago and now I have finally discovered that I truly am in love with Cindy. And now some jock is gonna come over here and steal her away from me? I can't let that happen. _His negative side started to kick in._ But what if she doesn't feel the same way about me? I mean she's already going out with some other guy. If she liked me, then she wouldn't have done that. Besides, she has a right to be with whoever she wants. It's not like I own her or anything..._

_"But you wish you owned her..." _his conscience said again in a more seductive and sadistic way. His face reddened at the sudden inappropriate image that popped into his mind.

"Again, shut up!" he said to himself in a loud whisper. "Stupid teenage hormones." he cursed himself.

_Clink clink clink_

Jimmy's heart stopped as he heard the familiar sound of keys flapping back and forth. They were strolling towards the boys' restroom. There is only one person with keys that would dare roam these hallways. _Gaballini!_ He thought in horror. If he got caught now, there goes his lunchtime for the rest of the month. How did he get down here so quickly? He zipped up his jeans and backed away from the toilet. The footsteps moved closer and closer until he could see the shadow of two feet right behind the restroom door. Jimmy looked around and only saw the bathroom stall as his hiding place. Luckily, one of them had a sign that said 'Out of Order' on it.

Without hesitating, Jimmy quickly slid under the bathroom stall and stepped on top of the toilet. Not really his first line of defense. But in such a short amount of time, it was the only option he had. He jumped at the loud banging noise that came after Gaballini kicked the doors open. He stepped inside and looked around. He could almost feel the intensity in his actions. Sometimes, the man took his job a little too seriously. Jimmy covered his mouth to hide the sounds of his heavy breathing. He couldn't help it sometimes. He was just too terrified. His eyes remained closed as he listened to the dean's steady heartbeats. He was completely calm. That rhythm, it sounded so familiar.

"Anyone in here?" the old man grunted loudly. He bent over and peered through the stalls for any pairs of feet resting on the floor. "You best come out if you don't want more punishment on your behalf...**Now!**" he yelled suddenly. Jimmy jumped at the raise of his voice that echoed through the restroom, which nearly made him lose his balance on the toilet seat. He tried to control his heart rate that was beating rapidly and probably could be heard by the old man's sharp ears. He waited in total silence for two long minutes.

"Hmmmpph..." Gabalini raised his head and walked back outside.

Jimmy waited until the footsteps were across the hallway before he let out a huge sigh of relief that he had been holding in. He stepped down from the toilet seat and looked at his phone. 9:26 a.m. _Better hurry back to class. Second period will be starting in a few minutes. _He put the phone back in his pocket and retreated to the door. Luckily, he had Intro to Art next and Cindy had P.E. At least he could avoid her painful silent treatment until lunch.

The hallways were empty when Jimmy poked his head out of the boys' restroom. He focused his ears on the familiar voice of the old man humming to another military cadence. The sound of a TV turned on to the National Geographic channel filled his ears as well. Gaballini was back in the teacher's lounge.

Jimmy took advantage of the opportunity and scurried away to class. Voices continued to fill his head as he walked by different classrooms. Everyone jabbering away while waiting for the bell to ring, bags and backpacks being zipped up, fingers drumming impatiently against the wood of the desk, teachers sighing miserably, and the clock ticking away the minutes until second period. It was seriously annoying. He did his best not to let the sound get to him. But there was no way to block it out. All the irritating noises scratching the inside of his brain.

Jimmy walked back into class with just one minute to spare. He hurried to his desk and began putting his materials away. He stole a quick glance at Cindy's desk. She was talking to Nissa again. He tilted his head slightly to get a clearer reading.

"...after spending about two hours at the mall, I finally found that Pink Cupid nail polish I was looking for. Can you believe it was only 30% off? I was like so shocked that I was actually able to afford it with only five dollars in my pocket..." Nissa blabbed on and on.

"Oh I know. I walked into the nail spa the other day and everything was on sale..." Cindy said brightly.

Jimmy tuned out again._ Girl talk. Absolutely pointless._ He continued packing up the rest of his things and waited fearfully for the horrible bell that would surely burst his ears wide open. He took his seat and waited impatiently. Failing to fight his urge, Jimmy looked over at his blonde colleague for the millionth time.

A flush of red spread over his cheeks when he noticed that she had stole a glance at him as well. He snapped his gaze quickly back to the front of the class. _Oh god she saw me! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!_

_Shit! He caught me looking at him! Cindy _thought to herself in a panic_.What if he thinks I've been watching him this whole time?_ She looked up at the ceiling as she tried to calm her heartbeat. Trying to make sure her face doesn't get any redder than it already was_._ Too late, she was a tomato_. Okay, maybe he didn't see me. Maybe I was able to look away in time before he turned over to...wait a minute..why _did_ he look over here? _Her head looked down at her table in sudden turned curiosity. She slowly turned to his desk again.

_Crap! Why is she looking over here?! Oh no, she did see me! _Jimmy fought with everything he could to not look in her direction for anything and focused his eyes on the window to his left side. _Okay. Stay calm. Maybe she won't notice anything weird if I stay calm._

_Why does he look like he's freaking out? _Cindy wondered, narrowing her eyes towards him. _Why did he look over here? _

_Why did she look at me?_ Jimmy suddenly thought. He raised his eyebrow and looked at her through the corner of his eye.

_Oh god he's doing it again! Why does he keep looking over here?_

_Why is she still looking at me?!_

_Wait...maybe he wasn't even looking at me. Maybe he was trying to check out Nissa. She is after all, the only semi-good looking girl he hasn't gone out with..yet_. Cindy's stomach boiled at the thought. She suddenly felt a deep hate/jealousy towards her. She looked over to her friend and noticed her staring at her nails innocently without even getting the hint that Cindy was glaring at her. _Wait! Stop it Cindy! You can't seriously be starting to dislike Nissa over the thought that Neutron might be planning to ask her out! Might as well hate every girl in this school. Like, really? You can't be that foolish...But what if he is? I mean, what if he is planning on asking Nissa out and that's why he looked over here?_ She felt worried and angry at the same time. _Get a grip Cindy! You're loosing it!_

_She looks so cute when she argues with herself,_ Jimmy mused as he looked at the corner of his right eye and watched Cindy make different angry expressions. _Wonder what it is this time. Why does she keep looking at Nissa? Hold up, stop lulling over her Neutron!  
_

_R.E.L.A.X! You do this everytime you catch him looking at another girl. It's not a big deal. He's asked girls out way too many times before. Well actually, they usually ask him out. Depending on their hotness rate. But really, it's nothing. I don't even care who that jerk goes out with anyways!...so why am I so bothered by it?_ She leaned against her desk and sighed. No need to ask old questions. She already knew the answer. _No. Don't do this to yourself. You can't have a bad day just because of Neutron. That jerk just spend the last 24 hours in a coma, and if asking Nissa out on a date was the first thing that came to his mind, then fine! It's his loss anyways._ She nodded her head in confirmation. She didn't need him for anything.

_Oh why does she keep doing this to me?_ Jimmy rubbed his face with his hands. _I'm supposed to be mad at her for her poor choice in men and yet here I am, admiring her adorable facial expressions. I can't even look at her without freaking out! What's that all about? Get it together Neutron! You have dated girls way more times than you can remember. Cindy is a girl, so why is she any different?_ Duh. He knew that answer._ Because she's Cindy..._

**Brrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggg!**

There it was...

Jimmy ducked his head and covered his ears just as it came raging through the classroom. He grit his teeth as his ears split against the palm of his hands. How can something such as a bell be so painful? If he had to endure more of this, he'll go deaf for sure.

_That's just perfect! Another thing to add to the list of today's disappointments. _He felt a familiar surge of power rising from his chest. The one that made him want to pound the living daylights out of something. He tightened his hands into a fist in order to resist the urge. Things just were not going well at all. Today was supposed to be different. It was just this morning that he woke up alive and healthy after spending all of Sunday wondering if he was dead or not. An entire day of just dying in his horrible nightmares. This should have been the best day he's ever had in his life. He wasn't supposed to be in constant ear pain, or suddenly develope super hearing abilities, or getting banned from going inside his lab, or disappointing his mother, Cindy wasn't supposed to be mad at him, and to top it of, she wasn't supposed to be going on a date with Brad on Friday night! He slammed his fist against the table in anger. Nothing was going the way he intended it to be. And for some reason, that angered Jimmy more than it should have. He let out a small growl that caught the attention of the people walking past him. All of them giving him strange looks. _Of course they wouldn't understand. All they hear is the signal of freedom for first_ _period._ He grabbed his backpack and walked slowly of the front of the class. Still massaging his growing migraine while muttering dark things under his breath.

Cindy eyed him carefully as he continued grumbling to himself with a sour face up until he reached the exit door, while also packing up her own things. Something seemed very off with him today. More than usual she had to add. He was up to something. But still way too mad at him to try and figure it out. She had more important things to think about other than what _he_ was doing. Waayy more important things to think about than _him_.

"What's up with you anyways?" Nissa's voice entered her ears. She quickly snapped her head towards the girl standing next to her, with her bag and books ready to go.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean like ever since you and Jimmy had that little 'moment' earlier, you've been kind of..distracted. And you keep staring at him."

"What? That's ridiculous. I haven't been staring at him. I just have a lot on my mind. I don't have time to waste looking at that pathetic loser." Cindy answered weakly.

Nissa gave her a knowing look.

"What?"

"Oh c'mon Cindy, you're not fooling anyone. Just admit that you're catching feelings for him." the girl put her free hand on her hips.

"Don't be silly Nissa! I would never catch feelings for Nerdtron!" Cindy exclaimed defensively. _Because I already do. _"I'm not brain dead like all the other fan girls here who fawn over him like if he's the Channing Tatum of the school."

"Actually, he is." Nissa confirmed. "We all had a meeting last month."

Cindy gaped at her friend in confusion. "Anyways.." she blinked the recent statement out of her mind. "I have my date with Brad to think about so I really don't have time."

"Okay, whatever you say." Nissa said unconvinced. "Just make sure Brad doesn't make other plans before you tell him you changed your mind about going out on Friday."

"Oh dammit, that's right! I forgot to tell Brad and I don't even have his number!" Cindy smacked her forehead with her palm.

"Where's your phone?"

"Forgot it at home. I overslept this morning and I left it in my room." she answered bitterly.

"Well just tell him at lunch. I honestly doubt he'll have a date before then. He's not Jimmy after all."

Cindy rolled her eyes and let out an angry sigh once more. "Can we please have one full conversation where you don't mention Nerdtron's name at all? Seriously, it's like you're obsessed or something."

The girls made their way out of the classroom, said their goodbyes to Miss Fowl, who was too busy using her computer to notice them, and headed out into the hallway. Students shoved past them on their way to class.

"I know I can't help it! He's just so hot, it's hard to resist!" Nissa pouted. "Especially now, since he won't be on the market for too long."

Cindy stopped walking abruptly. "What? What do you mean by that?"

Nissa smiled at Cindy's sudden change of expression. She looked around the rushing students cautiously to make sure no one would hear them and leaned in closer to Cindy.

"Word on the street is, Natasha is planning on asking him out again sometime this week." Nissa answered.

At the sound of this, Cindy clenched her text book even tighter against her chest. _Great. Not this again. _She closed her eyes and took a silent deep breath before speaking again.

"And has Nerdtron said anything about it?" she strained her voice and made it sound as sweet and calm as possible. If only she could get her hands on Natasha and give her a piece of her mind. But then again, that wouldn't turn out so well for her. Murder_ is_ still 'technically' illegal in the United States.

"He doesn't know about it. Well, at least, Natasha hopes he doesn't. She kind of wants to keep it a secret so that she can catch him unexpectedly. She thinks if she uses the element of surprise, he'll say yes." They pushed passed another large crowd of students heading in the opposite directions. Cindy growled at every person that bumped into her. _Seriously, school hallways definitely need to have left and right lanes divided in the middle! _

"Believe me. It wouldn't be much of a surprise. She's asked him like what? Five times already?" Cindy counted her fingers.

"Six actually. One of them was kind of done in secret, but he still turned her down. But almost an accurate calculation." They heard a voice correct them from behind. Both girls turned around to find Libby walking quickly towards them.

"Still talking about Jimmy's love life I see." Libby smirked at Cindy as she caught up with the girls.

"And how exactly would _you_ know about Natasha asking Jimmy out?" Cindy ignored her remark. To be honest, she was also more surprised that Libby had this vital information and didn't even bother to tell her.

"Girl, I am the eyes and ears of this institution. There is nothing that goes on around here without my knowledge of it." Libby announced proudly. "And also, she told me about it two weeks ago. But she wanted to keep it a secret." she admitted after a short pause.

"And she thought it was a good idea by telling _you?_" Nissa asked in confusion. "Like, does she not know who you are?"

"I know right?" Libby agreed. "I gotta admit, she's not the brightest cookie in the box." the girls nodded their heads in unison. "But since he turned her down, there wasn't really much to gossip about."

"Really? Not even enough to tell your best friend?" Cindy side whispered to her. She stole a quick glance at Nissa, who was suddenly distracted by the group of boys that walked by them. She smiled and waved at them.

"Like I said, it wasn't much to tell since he rejected her for the millionth time in the last mont and a half. And I also remember a certain someone clearly stating that she didn't want to hear anything about our little boy genius's current or future lover at that time." Libby quietly reminded her.

"Still would have been nice to know. Best friends tell eachother everything." she uttered as her attention went back to Nissa, who turned back to continue her conversation. Libby just shook her head and rolled her eyes instead of responding back. _There just was no pleasing this girl._

"I think he might say yes just to get her off his back. She's starting to get way too desperate." Nissa added. "Talk about stripping yourself of all dignity."

"Oh really? And what's _your_ excuse?" Cindy laughed in obvious surprise of Nissa's comment.

"It's different for me. At least I don't openly humiliate myself by asking him out over and over again." Nissa scoffed. "I secretly obsess over him, yes, but I would never _ever_ let him find out."

Both Cindy Libby shook their heads in disapproval. Mostly because they were the only girls in the school who didn't understand why everyone was so in love with him. Jimmy _was_ afterall, Sheen's best friend. And Libby was his girlfriend. It would just be wrong if she found her boyfriend's best friend attractive. She wasn't like one of those chick flick teenage sluts that hooked up with their boyfriend's best friend or brother in the janitor's closet, and then act like nothing is going on. Nope. That was not Libby Folfax.

But then again, even if they weren't friends, she still wouldn't break that boundary. Her eyes were only for Sheen, and she couldn't have been happier any other way. Cindy on the other hand, was a totally different story. Libby looked over at her friend and smiled. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew the real reason Cindy would get annoyed over all the girls who paid more attention to Jimmy. It was because it was a reflection of her own actions. Even if it is done secretly. And because it was also a reminder of everything she could have if she just let her guard down for once. Cindy hated their ability to express their emotions towards him without much hesitation. She hated that they were braver than her. And, like always, the only way to channel that specific emotion into the open, was by being completely annoyed by it. But also because he was hers and nobody else's. As far as Libby has heard her say to herself when she thinks no one is listening.

"Well, I have P.E. next," Cindy stopped by the girl's locker room just a few feet away. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

"Kay kay." Nissa said brightly.

"See yah." Libby smiled.

Both girls waved at her as she made her way to her locker. At least now she can take out some of her anger in class. Hopefully, today they play dodgeball. She could really take in the satisfaction of knocking someone's teeth out with a hard rubber ball. Maybe even picture Natasha's face while she's at it.

God help the poor victim she will be choosing...

* * *

"Carl for the last time, Ultra Lord can totally kick Llama boy's butt!" Sheen yelled from one side of the table.

"And I'm telling_ you_ that he can't! Ultra Lord won't be able to handle Llama boy's super hug abilities. Once he's got him weak, he'll strike." Carl argued back.

"Oh Puh-leeeeasse! What's he gonna do? Snuggle him to death? Ultra Lord can use his super laser wrist watch from episode #225: Attack of the Worm People, to break free of Llama boy's hugs and destroy him!" Sheen slammed his fist on to the table in frustration.

"No! Incase you forgot **_Sheen_**, Ultra Lord's watch stopped working at the end when Dr. Sipuncula captured him and attempted to turn him into a worm as well with the power of his worm house generator. So he had to use up all the battery he had left to destroy the lab he was in-"

"- So! He doesn't need his watch to stop Llama boy! He can always beat the crap out of him with his super fast punches!" Sheen cut in.

"No he can't!"

"Yes he can!"

"No he can't!"

**"YES HE CAN!"**

"Guys! Guys! Can we tone it down a bit?" Jimmy yelled at the two boys who were right about to tear eachother apart.

Both had been sititng across from one another and were now leaning on top of the table when Jimmy walked into art class. The boys stopped glaring at eachohter and gaped at Jimmy as he took his seat next to Carl. Right. He had been so occupied that morning, he forgot to text them and tell them he was okay. Or that he was even coming to school. No wonder they seemed so surprise to see him.

"Uh, Jim? Y-your back already?" Carl mumbled quietly. He really didn't have any idea how to react. The shock was too much for his brain to process.

"Well yeah. I can't miss school after all. I can't have any absences go on my permanent record." Jimmy answered. He didn't really know what else to say either.

"You told me that was just a myth!" Carl yelled and pointed his finger at Sheen accusingly.

"Dude, what was that all about yesterday? We thought you were gone." Sheen responded quietly, ignoring Carl's accusation.

"I told you guys I didn't know how long or how strong the side effects would be. But I'm awake now and everything is fine." Jimmy smiled warmly at his friends. How much he wished things would be back to normal. He was indeed very happy to see them, and he missed them the entire time he was out. Even if he did have a terrible headache at the moment, hearing their voices made him feel so much better.

Carl and Sheen looked at him and nodded in understanding. They also were glad to see that he was alright.

"Well I hope you don't try that sick band again." Carl said after a few quiet moments.

"Don't worry about that Carl." Jimmy assured with a smile. "I've learned my lesson."

"That's the same thing you said when we went to Retroland and you wouldn't stop eating all those hotdogs before getting on the Bad Outta Heck rollercoaster, and then you ended up throwing up all over Carl's shoes." Sheen reminded as he leaned back against his chair and crossed his arms.

Jimmy shook his head and looked at Sheen in disbelief. "No Sheen, that was you." he corrected.

He watched his friend put a finger on his chin while he recollected his thoughts. When the memory finally came back to him, his eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Right. I stand corrected.." Sheen said lowering his head in shame and defeat.

"Oh yeah I remember that," Carl looked down at his shoes in thought. "My shoes still smell like beef."

"Anyways, like I said before, everything is fine." Jimmy told them.

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Sheen warned.

"And why not?" Jimmy arched an eyebrow at him.

"That's like your jinx right there," Sheen explained. "Everytime you say or even think everything is fine or that nothing can go wrong, it tends to turn into a horrible disaster."

Jimmy nodded his head and analyzed this in his mind. "Interesting theory Sheen, but I honestly doubt a silly superstition such as that one, has been the cause of a few minor unforeseen accidents."

"A few minor unforeseen accidents? Are you kidding me? Dude, have you forgotten the time you cloned yourself and had an entire angry mob beat you up and throw you in the dumpster? Or the time that you created a second ice age? Or when you freeze dried Coach Gruber? And I believe after all those 'minor accidents', you clearly stated you had no idea that would happen!" Sheen yelled out loud, which startled a few students who were barely walking into class.

"Hey, weren't we both apart of the angry mob that beat up Jimmy?" Carl asked scratching his chin while pondering the thought.

"That's not the point!" Sheen slammed his hands against the table again. "The point is that Jimmy always jinxes himself in every situation he's in."

"Okay, so maybe I have had little accidents here and there, but that still doesn't prove that I jinx myself." Jimmy objected, scratching his head nervously.

"Oh it totally does." Sheen confirmed. "You are the ultimate jinxer."

"So what if the odds don't exactly work in my favor? A lousy superstition such as 'jinxing my situations' isn't the cause of it. I just sometimes miscalculate the probability on the outcome of whatever pickle we get ourselves into." he explained to the boys.

"If it's just miscalculations. Then how do you know that this isn't different?" Carl asked.

Jimmy sighed at this question and set his hands on the table._ I don't _" I just know. Okay? For once, just trust me when I say that everything is fine." he said quietly.

Sheen was reluctant at first, but when Carl gave him a look just as he was about to speak, he decided to stop it there. He really didn't mean to pester Jimmy about it, but he had no other way to process the shock of seeing his best friend go into a coma, and then returning to school the next day like if nothing even happened. He just really wanted to believe that Jimmy was fine now. It would just be too much for him and Carl to loose the closest friend they have ever had.

After another minute, Jimmy covered his ears without hesitation. Sheen raised his eyebrow at him.

"Dude what are you-"

**Brrrriiiiiinnnngggggg!**

Jimmy once again followed his usual routine and felt the pain ring against his sensitive ears. Shaking up every cell in his body. It was now just exhausting on so many levels. He could literally feel steam running out of his ears. And it was only second period. At this rate, Jimmy seriously considered calling his mom and telling her to pick him up early.

As the last group of students rushed to their seats, Mr. Harley walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Okay class, everyone settle down please." Mr. Harley called out. The class quieted down and focused all their attention to the tall blonde haired man standing in front of them.

"I know that today you were supposed to be finishing up your water color painting on your canvas, but since we still haven't found the thief that stole all the art supplies last week, you guys just sit amongst yourselves and work on your other class assignments. Progress reports will be coming out soon, so I suggest you get to work." the teacher explained. "I'll be taking role in just a few minutes."

And with that, Mr. Harley walked back to his desk, and the class resumed to their normal conversations.

"Haha sweet!" Sheen pumped his fist in the air. "He doesn't suspect a thing!"

"_Sheen_! You said you were gonna bring them back by Friday! What if you get caught?" Carl whined fearfully.

"Relax Carlito," Sheen waved off nonchalantly. "We have nothing to worry about. I'm just gonna hold onto it until we pass the project's due date and he'll have no choice but to give us a new one."

"But I thought you said you were gonna paint Ultralord?"

"I was! But my stupid little sister spilled her apple juice all over it at dinner! I won't have time to make a new one."

"But that wouldn't be fair to the students who have been working very hard on it." Carl scolded as he wagged his finger at Sheen.

The hyperactive boy only rolled his eyes at his friend. "Are you blind man? Look around you!" Sheen points at the whole class dramatically. "Nobody ever does Harley's projects in this class! The only one who ever does any work around here is Jimmy and even a color blind kindergartener can do a better painting than him. (turns to Jimmy) No offense."

"None taken." Jimmy answered half paying attention.

"So fine the class doesn't do any of the projects, but I was still gonna do mine." Carl said.

"Okay then! Just come by my house later and use the materials I have hidden there. Stop being such a baby!"

"I am not a baby!" Carl whined.

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

The boys rose from their seats once more and glared at eachother. But this time, someone else stepped in to break up the little argument.

"Whoa, easy there boys." Mr. Harley appeared behind Sheen. "At least try to stay alive until lunch. I hear they're serving burritos filled with mystery meat." He calmly put his hands on Sheen's shoulder and lowered him back to his seat gently. "Lose the hostility. It's art class. There's not really much to get dramatic about."

"Sorry Mr. Harley." The two boys said in unison.

The man gave the boys his big toothy grin. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure you keep your voices down. The last thing I need is Gaballini sniffing around here because of a noise complaint." The three of them nodded their head in agreement.

"Now get to work young scholars. We may not have art supplies, but I know you _do_ have other homework assignments to work on. (pats Sheen on the back) Am I right Mr. Estevez?"

"Naaahh. I'm not really the homework type." Sheen answered carelessly leaning back against his seat.

Mr. Harley sighed. "Oh well. I tried." He looks over at Jimmy and smiles. "Well if you change your mind, you can always ask James here for help. He can do anything. Am I right?"

Jimmy looked up at the man and smiled half-heartedly. "That's right Mr. Harley."

"Anything except drawing." Sheen side commented to Carl, who chuckled in agreement.

"Make sure you keep it down gentlemen." Mr. Harley finished off and strolled on back to the front desk.

"Jimmy? Are you okay?" Carl asked as he watched him rub the side of his temples with a tired look on his face.

"Yup. All good Carl. I'm just tending to a tiny little head ache." Jimmy put on the best smile he could muster while also trying to hide the fact that he was ready to cry out of pain. His whole body, along with his head, was exhausted. He really didn't know how much he could take anymore.

"Oh well, that's good." Carl nodded and smiled.

"Thanks. So what did you guys do yesterday? You know after..." he trailed off.

"Oh-uh we just...went home I guess." Sheen rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of boring without you."

Jimmy smiled truthfully at this comment. "You guys missed me that much?" he joked.

"Somewhat. We were mostly just kind of worried. Everyone was." Carl added.

"Yeah even Cindy was on edge the whole day. And that's a shock since she never really expresses any emotions whatsoever. Or even shows proof of even having any." said Sheen.

His heart skipped a best at the mention of her name. He did his best not to let it get to his head. "On edge? Like how?"

"Libby stayed at her place yesterday once we got you home. And she was texting me the whole time. She said that Cindy just seemed so anxious and distracted. She said she kept pacing around her room and she couldn't get a word out of her for nearly an hour. Also, she said she kept looking at your house through her window."

"R-really?" Jimmy stuttered nervously. "I didn't think it would take that much of a toll on her." Now he felt even more guilty. Not only did he worry his mother, but Cindy also. And well...everyone else.

"Oh yeah. She was a mess. Your mom basically had to drag her out of your house. She kept on insisting that we stay a while longer, incase you woke up. I was a little scared she might beat us up if we even peeped a word to her afterwards." Sheen replied.

"She's scary." Carl shuttered. "I don't know what you see in her Jim. But if you like feisty, then be my guest."

"One: Don't say that about her, and two: I _don't_ like her!" Jimmy raised his voice in defense.

"Sure you don't. Then I guess you wouldn't mind explaining why you have been blushing ever since we brought her name up." Sheen grinned.

"Will you just-uhh..." he trailed off again and rubbed his neck nervously. _Dammit! I have to control my heartbeat._

"Relax man. Everyone in town knows you two have the hots for eachother. It's no big secret ya know." Sheen folded his arms.

"Yeah Jim. Don't you remember that one time in the alley after the angry mob chased out Corky Shamatzu, you and Cindy ki-Mmmmpphhh!" Jimmy quickly lunged at Carl with full force and covered his mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"Too much information!" Jimmy growled angrily. He leaned in a little closer to Carl. "Don't forget. That was supposed to be _our_ little secret." Jimmy whispered between gritted teeth.

Carl nodded his head repeatedly in fear before Jimmy finally released him. Sheen watched with fascination.

"What was that all about?" Sheen asked.

"What was what all about?" Jimmy asked in return.

"Carl was just talking about something going down in an alley and then you just attacked him before he could finish." The boy answered as he narrowed his eyes.

"Huh? What are you talking about Sheen?" Jimmy asked, his tone pretending to sound confused.

"Hey! I know what you're doing!" Sheen said suspiciously. "You're trying to do that thing where you pretend that you didn't say something and make me think that it's all in my head just because you don't want me to know what it is."

"Know what what is?" Jimmy raised his eyebrows at him. Carl looked down at his shoes once more in order not to blow Jimmy's cover.

"Stop it! I know what you're doing! That's trickery I tells yah! Trickery!" Sheen yelled in fear. His chest heaved up and down. And his eyes were as wide as a maniac. Several students stopped talking and looked over at Sheen. Fearful of what he might do.

Jimmy looked over at the crowd and gave them a reassuring 'I've got this under control' look. They all sighed in relief and went about their business.

"Honestly Sheen, you're starting to worry me. Did you take your medication this morning?" Jimmy asked.

Sheen paused his heavy breathing and tappd his chin in thought. "Hmmm..now that you ask, I don't think I did." Sheen scratched his head in confusion. About a minute went by before he finally got to his conclusion. "Huh, guess I didn't." His voice now calmer than it was before. "Oh well, I guess I was imagining stuff." Sheen confirmed.

"Yes you were." Jimmy whispered under his breath. A satisfied smirk crossed his lips.

Sheen's puzzled expression changed in half a second. "Ehh, anyways, I need to go ask Harley if I could borrow a pencil for my next class. Libby said I can't get any of my 'special gifts' for two weeks if she doesn't start seeing notes on my notebook for history." Sheen said gloomily as he stood up from the table and walked towards the front of the classroom.

"Really Sheen? _You _doing homework just for your girlfriend?" Jimmy chuckled in disbelief.

"Hey hey hey, I never said anything about doing homework." Sheen corrected defensively. "I said to just take notes. That's all that she asks of me."

Jimmy did his best to suppress a laugh. Sheen caught on to his expression. "Well ex-cuuusssseee me Mr. Ladies Man. But not all of us guys have clueless hot chicks killing eachother just to get down our pants, like you. Some guys gotta work for our ladies to get affection." Sheen huffed. With that, he was gone.

"How do you keep doing that?" Carl asked in amusement once Sheen was out of earshot.

"It's really not that hard Carl. It _is_ Sheen after all. You can trick him into believing anything. Don't you remember that time we got him to believe that we were actually Ultralord even after I turned him into a super genius? He'll be fine." Jimmy responded casually dumping his backpack on the table and taking out a few blue prints from his folder.

"I still feel bad that we trick him like that though." Carl said resentfully. "He's our best friend. And best friends don't keep secrets from eachother."

"Carl, telling Sheen any big secret is almost as bad as telling Libby. One word, and he'll go off and tell the whole school. Also, you promised to keep it between us." Jimmy reminded him. "Not to mention the fact that Cindy will come after our heads if she finds out we told Sheen what happened back in fifth grade."

"Yeah I guess..." Carl sighed.

"Hey c'mon. What Sheen doesn't know won't hurt him." Jimmy patted Carl on the back._ More like what he doesn't know won't hurt you._

It was a stupid mistake now that he thought back. Not only did he risk the friendship he and Cindy had back then, but he also showed his weakest moment right in front of Carl. Luckily it was only him and not Sheen or Libby. Then all hell would have broken loose. Though at that time, it felt like the right thing to do. It's like they were both sure about their feelings for eachother without actually saying it. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help the relationship. He figured it out the next day when Cindy acted like nothing ever happened. He was crushed, yes, but maybe it was for the best at that time. And now he must carry the annoying burden of keeping Carl from ever sharing their secret to everyone else. He couldn't afford to let everyone know that he kissed his arch rival back when they were eleven. So if lying to Sheen had to be the price, then so be it.

A few short minutes later, Sheen returned back and the boys were ably to go on with their endless talk about the latest episode of Ultralord. Jimmy didn't pay much attention to that part and spent most of his time trying to figure out who in their right mind would keep a terrible show such as Ultralord, running for more than thirty years. Or how they even had the money to continue making new episodes. Everthing went on as usual. With the occasional uprising between the two tables. One of which, Mr. Harley had to separate Carl and Sheen before they killed eachother...

* * *

Lunch time could not have come any sooner. As much as Jimmy missed his friends, he remembered why he would always be so annoyed with them. The constant arguing and bickering. He was surprised _they_ were even friends to begin with. _Hmmm, I wonder if that's how they see me and Cindy._ Probably. He and Cindy fought way more times than Carl and Sheen do. It's no wonder why everyone always seemed to get annoyed.

As soon as the class was signaled to leave, Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen hurried to the cafeteria before all the mystery meat burritos ran out. With a school full of hungry teenagers, the food ran out within minutes. The boys hurried down the hallway, along with the rest of the students. It wasn't until they were barely making it to the entrance of the cafeteria five minutes later, that Sheen stopped abruptly.

"Hold up guys. I'm supposed to wait for my Libbilicious to get out of class."

"Doesn't she have biology? She should have gotten here before us." Jimmy wondered.

"She does, but she went to go pick up Cindy from P.E. class. It'll only be like a minute."

_Oh no_. Jimmy gulped and looked around the hallway. Scanning the massive crowd coming in towards them. It didn't take long before he spotted the blonde girl walking with Libby. His stomach felt that same tight knot that formed everytime he saw her. But this time, it was a mixture of nervousness, anxiety, and anger. He couldn't face her just yet. Especially since she was also pissed off with him. And an angry Cindy is always the worst. And being him, it was quite often that he had to deal with her like this.

"I see them." Carl pointed out at the crowd, breaking Jimmy out of his thoughts. His palms felt sweaty.

"Over here my love!" Sheen called out to the girls. As soon as Libby spotted them, she and Cindy made their way to the three boys waiting by the entrance. He had to think fast or spend the rest of his lunch being verbally abused by Cindy. Or worse, getting the silent treatment and that evil deadly glare that she so loves to give him.

"You know what? Uhhh, I just ummm remembered that I have this...thing to do..for a class. So ummm, I gotta head to the library. Anyways, I'll meet you guys right after lunch. See yah, bye!" Jimmy rushed out into the hallway before either of the boys could ask a single question.

He shoved passed several students in his desperate attempt to leave before the girls got there. Carl and Sheen remained where they were, completely puzzled by his sudden departure. Cindy and Libby arrived only seconds later.

"Where's Jimmy going?" Libby asked giving Sheen a peck on his cheek.

"I dunno. He said something about finishing something for a class and then he took off faster than the speed of light." Sheen answered looking out at Jimmy's rushing figure in the distance.

"Typical Jimmy move. Always gotta be doing school work." Libby shook her head and rolled her eyes. She looked over at Cindy and noticed that she had been oddly quiet the whole time and looking around at the passing crowd. Not even making a witty remark on Jimmy's absence.

"He said he'll be back later." said Carl

"Shall we ladies." Sheen broadly gestured towards the entrance doors with his hands. To which resulted with Cindy rolling her eyes at him.

As much as she hated to think about it, she often wondered why Jimmy can't be more like Sheen when it came to being a gentlemen. Yeah, Sheen was a doorknob when it came to other things such as commen sense, but he never gave her any reason to think he wasn't a good boyfriend to her bestfriend. Infact, he made her happier than anything else, just by his very presence. _Aaarrgggh! When will my time come? _How long will she wait for the idiot boy genius to come to his senses? Never probably. Not with all these girls throwing themselves in his direction. He could have whoever he wanted at the snap of his fingers. So why bother with her?

Libby beamed at Sheen as she took his hand and allowed herself to be lead into the cafeteria. Carl followed after them. Cindy looked around for Jimmy, hoping that maybe he changed his mind and came ba- _Wait, hold it right there! You're mad at him. Don't forget that_. She took a deep breath and followed the rest of the gang inside. _Who needs that loser anyways_...

* * *

Since it was lunchtime, no students had occupied the library. It shouldn't have been a concern in the first place. Nobody except the librarian and himself had bothered entering it to do research homework, read, or even just to hang out for that matter. But at least it was the perfect hiding spot that he can have all to himself. Not to read books of course. There was nothing here that this library can teach him that he didn't already know about. Though it didn't really matter, as long as he was away from _her_ for now.

As he passed the main entrance of the library, he took a seat amongst the bookshelves to further hide himself from anyone else who walked in there. He took out a few notes from his notebook and reviewed them. He still hadn't been able to finalize his Neutronic Sleep Ray Three thousand ever since the incident on Saturday. And now with his mother's recent orders, he knew for sure there was no way he can make it stable in the lab. But it never hurt to go over the blue prints and test results. Maybe there would be something he can overlook that may or may not be a problem in the future. As he got his mind working, the inevitable sound of the large clock on the wall, ticking away the seconds that went by. Jimmy did his best not to let it bother him. But as time progressed, the clock began to mock him. Drumming loudly against his ears. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He could just imagine himself grabbing that clock and breaking it into a million pieces with his bare fist.

He suddenly heard a crackling sound and looked down at the table. "Oh, Gas Planet! I gotta control this." he said agnrily to himself when he noticed the crumbled piece of paper crushed inside his clutched fist._ What was up with this sudden urge to destroy everything that was annoying and irritating? Jimmy Neutron never looks at violence as an answer to anything. So why now?_ He took a look at his left leg, where the bite had disappeared, and pulled up the hem of his jeans. Beneath it, was just the rest of the skin. The one that had replaced the bite mark that had been there on Sunday morning. The one that was infected with puss and dry black blood. _  
_

Jimmy's face hardened as he studied the texture of his skin. Everything felt normal. So why couldn't he shake off this fear? If everything was fine, then why couldn't he just let it go and forget that anything ever happened? Right, because the proof was still locked up in his lab. He quickly made a mental note to go check up on _it_, the moment his mom went to bed. If anyone could explain what was going on, it was the one who was responsible for this. _"And if you live, you are no longer what you thought you were..." _Oh how much it haunted him to know exactly what the wolf was trying to tell him. Jimmy shook his head and looked back up at the table. This wasn't the time to worry. He was alive. His friends and family were okay. That's all that is important. That's the **only** thing that is important. Everything else was an afterthought. He will have his time to talk to the wolf later on. No need to make such a big deal about anything now.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and resumed his work. It took all the power that his mind had to ignore the growing hunch that he felt at the back of his head. _Get your head out of the gutter Neutron! You can do it._" He coached himself. The rest of lunchtime flew by after that. And even though his stomach rumbled with gnawing hunger, he preferred to suffer physically than emotionally. It would at least give him the time to try to channel his negative emotions in a positive way.

* * *

When the lunch bell finally rang thirty minutes later, the entire cafeteria was up and buzzing. Carl, Sheen, Libby, and Cindy hastily dumped their empty food trays into a trash bin close by their table and walked back out into the school hallway.

"They should really start having an open campus in this school. I cannot stand another day of this nasty mystery meat," Libby said with a look of disgust as the four of them walked together. "I mean like really? We all know it ain't meat. Can the school please spend their money on getting better food other than new textbooks?"

"But Libby, we need those new books. Mine are just about ready to fall apart. They've had these for almost as long as the school has been open." Cindy argued.

"Newsflash girl, no one even bothers with their books." Libby scoffed. "What they should really be focused on, is getting us lunch that isn't deadly or poisoning. Or if not, they can always just let us leave to McSpanky's or somethin'. Anything but this." She clutched her stomached tightly. "Ughhh. I think I might barf."

"Don't be so dramatic Libs." Cindy rolled her eyes. "It's not _that_ bad."

"Yeah babe. Cindy's right. I like the mystery meat. It's my favorite meal of the day." Sheen said with his arms around her waist. Libby gave him a look of disgust.

"Sheen you eat anything that isn't a vegetable or fruit. Of course you would like whatever they serve for lunch." Libby inquired.

Sheen stopped dramatically and stepped in front of her. "That's not true -(pause)...okay maybe it is." he admitted. Libby just shook her head in annoyance and continued walking with her arm around his waist.

"Besides, we only have one more year of this hell hole and then we're of to Linberge High." Cindy said brightly. "I hear they have an open campus there during lunch. And best of all, it's only half a block away from the Candy Bar."

"Ha, sweet!" Sheen pumped his fist in the air with excitement. "First round of milkshakes on me to celebrate our first week of high school."

"Hold your horses there Ultradork. We still got this year to survive." Cindy reminded him as she rolled her eyes.

His smile faded away into disappointment. "Why must the good be tortured so much." They heard him mumble.

The four of them continued making their way to their respected lockers until it was time for them to disperse. Sheen walked Libby and Cindy to their locker while Carl went off to his own. Conveniently, Cindy and Libby's locker were right next to eachother. Sheen leaned on another locker to Libby's right and smiled sleekly at her.

"I shall see you after school my love." he told her as he caresses her cheek. Libby giggled in response.

"Oh? And where shall we be going?" Libby asked sweetly. Cindy made a gagging expression as she put in her locker combination. Trying her best not to listen to their little sweet talk.

"Why to the movies my Ultra Queen." Sheen beamed at her.

"Yay!" Libby smiled excitedly. "Are we watching Endless Love? I heard it was such a cute movie."

Sheen's smirk faded into a look of worry and confusion. "Oh-uh..y-you wanted to watch Endless Love? W-wouldn't you have preferred to watch UltraLord: When Ants Attack? They're showing an extra fifteen minutes of the never before seen deleted scenes. Isn't that more exciting?" he encouraged weakly. Libby busied herself with taking out the essential notebooks and textbooks from her locker.

"No not really." she waved off. "We already saw it last Wednesday anyways."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out two movie tickets that were labeled, 'Ultralord: When Ants Attack!' He quickly put them back in his pocket before Libby could see what he was doing. He cleared his throat, which had suddenly started to feel very dry.

"So umm...(clears throat) Endless Love? Huh?" he says nervously.

Libby closed her locker and looked at him with a smile. "Well duh silly. Isn't that the movie you were talking about?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Yeah! Of course!" Sheen said a little too quickly. "W-what else could I have been talking about?" he laughed dramatically.

Libby have him a peck on the lips. "I hope you got the tickets online. I hear they'll be sold out pretty soon. And you know how long it takes for this cheap theater to get new ones." She rolled her eyes and began walking.

His face turned pale and his eyes widened with horror. Libby did not seem to notice. Cindy, who was watching the whole thing, rolled her eyes and shut her locker. She moved in on Sheen, who was still frozen on the spot.

"Chill out you moron! Just go right after school to the movie theater downtown and ask for Tony. He always sales extra tickets on the side. It'll cost you extra, but at least you'll be able to **not** disappoint my best friend with your stupid and ridiculous Ultra Lord ideas." Cindy whispered to him as she followed after Libby.

He shook his head repeatedly to calm himself down. It was settled. He will run for the tickets right after the bell rings. Nothing to worry about. He snapped his attention back to the hallway and followed after the girls.

Just a few feet away, Carl was humming to himself while also grabbing a few books and his Llama folder out of his locker.

"Hey Carl." He heard a voice from behind him. He turned his head to the side and noticed Jimmy walking over to him.

"Oh hey Jim. You finish that assignment you said you had to work on?" Carl asked returning his attention to his locker.

"Uh, yeah, somewhat." he shrugged. He looked around the hallway anxiously.

"So we're still good for after school today?" Carl asked.

"Huh?" Jimmy asked, returning his attention back to Carl.

"Are we still good for after school? You know, running on the track around the football field every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? The way we always do? Or if your still not feeling good, we can always cancel -"

"-No, no. I feel great. Yeah we're still good. I'll meet you by the fountains outside where we always meet. Sorry I'm just a little out of focus." Jimmy admitted.

"It's okay." Carl mumbled.

"Where's Sheen?"

"Oh he's over their walking Libby and Cindy to class." Carl pointed across the hallway from them. Jimmy looked around and noticed Sheen with Cindy and Libby.

Libby stopped by her class and turned back to Sheen and Cindy.

"Well I guess I'll be seeing you (gives Sheen a peck on the lips) afterschool." she smiled seductively at him. Sheen gave her stupid goofy grin.

"Yes you will." He murmered. "Just as soon as I buy the movie tickets." He whispered to himself. With that, he left the girls outside of their class room door.

Cindy looked around and finally noticed Brad leaning by his locker, talking with a few of his team mates only right across from her. What made it even more perfect, was that Jimmy was exactly where she wanted him to be. In plain site. The perfect way to get back at him for acting like a jerk earlier. She didn't exactly know why it bothered him. Maybe he just couldn't stand there being another hot guy that could easily take his place. She really didn't care. As long as it ticked him off.

"You ready to go girl?" Libby asked from behind her. Cindy jumped at the sudden interruption._ Oh right, I forgot she was there._

"Uh-yeah. Umm could you just give me a second? I gotta do something first. I'll catch up with you." Cindy answered anxiously.

Libby gave her a quizical look but preferred not to push it any further. "Umm alright then..." she answered unsurely. "Don't be late." Cindy nodded and strolled on over to Brad's locker.

Libby turned her back to walk into the class, then lingered by the door when she felt that the coast was clear. She watched carefully as Cindy made her way over to the jock with the dark brown hair.

Cindy quickly adjusted her bangs and tucked it behind her ear. She wish she could have dressed a little nicer just incase he would be a little more reluctant to go out with someone who rejected him the first time. She wore a simple white T-shirt, blue skinny jeans, and black low top converse. Not really enough that says 'Hey, I know I rejected you, but are you still available?' She sighed inwardly to herself. If she had known she would end up going out with him, she would have worn something better.

There was no time to waste. It was now or never. Cindy shook off whatever thoughts were left in her mind and marched right over to him. Not in a way where it looked like she was about to scream at him or anything. More of a casual yet fast paced march. She could already hear him laughing at something his friend said._ Relax and act natural. _She took a deep breath and put on the best fake smile she could muster.

"Hey Brad." she said a little too brightly. And maybe with a little too much enthusiasm. He looked at her and smiled back. _Okay good, he didn't notice._

"Oh hey Sandy." he said with a grin.

Cindy kept her smile broad. Even after hearing him call her another name. "Actually it's Cindy." she corrected him with a giggle._ Well I guess Neutron wasn't wrong about the tiny brained part._

Brad's grin faded and he shook his head in shame. "Ahh, sorry about that. I don't know why I keep mixing up Cindy and Sandy." he replied sheepishly.

"It's okay." she waved her hand girlishly. She took in his look and remembered why she had turned him down. As handsome as he was, he just really couldn't beat Jimmy as the best looking guy at school. She really didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that he should have been in high school already, or that he was just too pretty. Too good looking to the point where it isn't attractive at all. There was no spark or no sign that anything was going on in his head except for basketball and sports cars (his parents bought him one at the beginning of the year).

"So what can I do for you Cin?" Brad asked. He looked over at his teammate. His buddy took the hint and left them alone. "Want me to delete your number off my phone?" he joked.

Cindy let out a loud flirtatious laugh. "Oh Brad, you're so funny. No actually, I wanted to ask you something." she smirked at him as she leaned her hips against the locker right beside him. Brad took advantage of the moment and inched a little closer to her as well with a smirk...

What Carl was currently babbling about, he hadn't the slightest clue. As much as he loves his best friend, the boy never really got the hint when someone wasn't paying the slightest attention to what he was saying. It was probably about llamas again. He can go one whole hour of just talking about it without even noticing that Jimmy had left the room. It wasn't intentional though. Well, at least this time it wasn't. Right now, he couldn't help it. Because all his attention was focused on the blonde vixen that was sniffing up the Brad tree a few feet away.

Jimmy watched as Cindy laughed at some idiotic comment Brad made. Probably about his stupid hair or that ridiculous sports car he drives around. His jaw tightened as he watched them lean in closer to eachother. _This can't be happening! This cannot be happening! No! No! No!_ His chest was heaving up and down. He suddenly lost the ability to control his heart rate. _How could Cindy be with that oaf! How?!_

"...So we good then for Friday?" Brad tilted his head closer to her. He was so close, she could literally count all the tiny freckles on his cheeks.

"Oh yeah absolutely." Cindy giggled. "Again, sorry about yesterday. I had no idea what I was thinking."

"It's okay really." He grinned. "To be honest with you, I actually thought you turned me down because of your thing with Jimmy."

Her eye twitched, but she did her best to keep that smile up and alive. _Don't overreact. _"W-what do you mean Brad? I don't have a thing with Nerdtron. I can barely even stand that jerk."

"Oh well see that's what I mean," Brad pointed out. "You call him Nerdtron or Neutron and he calls you Vortex. I thought those were the pet names you guys had for eachother."

"Right. I see where the confusion is." Cindy mentally cursed herself. _No wonder everybody thinks we have a '**thing**' going on. Gosh! Can two rivals have nicknames for one another without having everybody getting the wrong idea? _"No no. We call eachother those nicknames out of pure hate for eachother. Nothing less and nothing more. Neutron and I are just intellectual rivals," Cindy stated with authority. "And that's all we'll ever be."

_Ouch, that hurt._ Jimmy thought to himself as he eavesdropped on their conversation. He clutched onto his chest as he felt a sudden tightness swell around it. But it wasn't anger, no it was something else more painful than that. He felt hurt, sadness. It's like if he just felt his heart snap in two._ Nothing but rivals? That's all? _He took deep breathes to calm his nerves._ Relax Neutron. You still got a chance. If you lose hope, then you lose the battle. Just keep your head up and you'll be fine._ But as he watched the flirting go on, he felt himself dying slowly. And it was all Brad's fault!

"Oh well that's nice." Brad nodded in approval. He really had no idea how else to respond to that. A simple 'no, we are not dating' would have been more comprehensible. "Well anyways, enough about him...so Friday I'll pick you up at your house and we can go to the movies?"

"Yeah definitely! You can pick me up around 7." Cindy said brightly. "What movie are we watching?"

"Whichever one you want." Brad said slickly. "Any movies you got in mind?"

He dug his nails into his pocket as he listened to every single word that came out of Brad's mouth. Oh how he just desired to walk up to him and rip his Adams Apple right out of his throat. Then go ahead and yank out all his teeth with his bare fingers. One by one. _How're you gonna kiss a guy with no teeth huh Cindy? Maybe then you won't think he's so pretty. If only I can get him alone in a dark alley somewhere far. Just to hear the sound of his gurgling blood spilling out of his mouth and feeling his skull being crushed at the palm of his hands._

"Grrrrrrrrr..." Jimmy growled quietly under his breath with gritted teeth. He hadn't the slightest idea what he was even doing.

"Are you okay Jimmy?" Carl asked with fear in his eyes. Jimmy ripped his gaze away from the two teenagers flirting with eachother and returned to Carl.

"Yes Carl I'm fine! Why do you keep asking?" Jimmy said with hostility in his voice.

"B-because you just growled like a dog." Carl whimpered backing away from him.

Jimmy clutched his hand into a fist in his pocket as the urge began to get stronger. He couldn't help it for some reason. A flow of energy coursing through his hand that so desperately wanted to beat Brad into a pulp. Jimmy closed his eyes and took deep breathes. _What in the name of Albert Einstein is going on with you! _He screamed at himself._ No violence! Violence is never the answer_! He repeated this to himself over and over again until he felt that burning sensation tingling irritatingly through his hands evaporate. Jimmy shook his head and opened his eyes again.

Carl had now moved two inches away from him. Fear written across his face. His legs ready to run frantically if anything violent came next.

"S-sorry Carl." Jimmy said rubbing the back of his neck. "Didn't mean to scare you. I'm just tired and I get grouchy when I'm sleepy."

Carl remained frozen to the spot. "Are you really okay Jim? That look in your eyes looked evil. Like if you were about to kill someone."

Jimmy looked down at the floor in shame. "Everything is fine Carl." he answered quietly. "I'm not going to kill anyone." His face hardened as he continued to stare at Brad and his stupid dopy looking smile.

At least he hoped he wouldn't...

Cindy couldn't have picked out 'Endless Love' as their movie selection. Her and Brad were **not** at that level. Not even remotely close. But it also had to be a movie that would interest him as well. Something with action, and something with not a lot of smooching. Or no smooching at all, for her own benefit. It had to set the right atmosphere. So she went along with 'Robocop'. At least there wouldn't be any romance to worry about.

"Alright then. Sounds good. I'll pick you up at 7." Brad grinned at her seductively. Most girls would have melted if he looked at them the way he looked at her. But for some reason, it made her wanna barf. It's like if he was undressing her with his eyes. A very uncomfortable feeling. She hoped it wouldn't be like that on Friday. Or worse...

"I look forward to seeing you." Cindy smiled while biting her bottom lip. This flirting thing was working out perfectly.

"Well I have to go. But I guess I'll see you later." Brad lifted himself off of his locker.

"See you around Brad." She smirked at him. He winked back at her and took off.

As soon as he was gone, she slumped her shoulders and let out a huge sigh of relief. _That was fun. _She stole a quick glance over at Carl's locker and noticed Jimmy glaring right at her. Not even bothering to hide his facial expression. He looked far beyond pissed, and for some reason, it gave her a strange satisfaction. She couldn't help but give him a devilish grin. Which set him off even worse. His veins popped out of his temples and he grit his teeth even tighter together. She could literally see black smoke fuming out of his ears.

The bell was only seconds away from ringing. That meant Gaballini would start cracking skulls any second. She straightened herself out and walked back to class. _How does it feel to not be the only one that can get dates huh, Nerdtron?_ See how he likes that. As a final touch, she did a simple yet sassy flip of her ponytail right behind her shoulders.

If he could kill with his eyes. He would have been mauled already. Jimmy couldn't help it one bit. First she flirts with him and acts all girly, then she has the nerve to smile evilly at him? Well fine! Two can play at that game. He smirked at the sudden thought that came into his mind. She wants to play dirty, he'll do it right back. But at least not right now. No. She's already going to class and there would not be enough time. Perfect. More time to formulate his own little flirt scene as well. _Enjoy your victory for_ _now Vortex__. Because that'll be a thing of the past. _But to do this, he was going to need someone hot enough to make her mad as well. And he knew just the right girl for the job. Shouldn't be too hard either. He was after all, the charmer.

"Hey Carl, I have to go." Jimmy said distractedly. Carl closed up his locker and strapped on his backpack.

"Oh okay then. You don't want me to walk you to class?"

"No no it's fine. Don't want you to be late." Jimmy said snapping out of his thoughts. "I'll see you after school."

"Alright, well see yah."

"See yah." Jimmy waved and walked away.

Next up, Algebra. His safe haven. No fan girls, no annoying class mates, and best of all, no Cindy. At least there he would be at peace with himself. He walked briskly towards the opposite side of the hallway and headed up the stairs. Leaving Carl by himself. He had to admit, he felt bad for acting like that with his red haired best friend. First he scares the living crap out of him and then just takes off without even having the thoughtfulness of offering to walk him to class, which is what he does on normal days. Just leave him hanging. It wasn't Carl's fault after all. He wasn't responsible for Cindy's lack of taste in men. _Note to self: make it up to Carl somehow._ _Hmmm, maybe get him that Larry the Llama poster they sale at the mall that he kept talking about the other day._ Basically anything Llama related will do just fine...

Libby sat in her seat patiently as she waited for Cindy to pass through the front door. The moment Brad left, she knew it was time to take cover and act like she didn't see a thing. Well, at least until Cindy got there. Then the interrogation would begin. But the one thing the she was not expecting, was the face Jimmy made only a few feet away from where Cindy and Brad were. Obviously, she knew he would be jealous, but the way he looked at the two of them. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was glaring at them with murder written all over his face. In all the years that she had known him, not once did he ever look at someone like that. He was about ready to rip Brad to pieces. Even Carl seemed terrified of him. But then there was also something else. Maybe it was just her mind playing games with her, but she could have sworn she saw something different in his eyes. Not how he was expressing them, but what was inside them. The second he was about to close his eyes, they didn't look blue at all. It was almost like a slight shimmering yellow color...

Then again, she didn't get a chance to get a good look at him as he tried to calm himself down. She only got half a second to see them. But something about that didn't seem right. Whatever it was, she just hoped he would fix it. Not just for his own sake, but for Cindy's as well. She knew she wouldn't be the same if anything ever happened to him. Although she didn't want to admit it, Cindy had strong feelings for him. So what she was doing with Brad, she was certain she will find out.

Cindy walked through the door, just as the final bell rang. Libby folded her hands together as she waited for her best friend in the back row. Cindy took one look at Libby and knew what was to come. She had that 'I know what you did and I want to know why' look in her face. _Perfect, I'm in court. _Cindy grumbled. _How could I have thought that I can get away with this without Libby's interrogations?_ She walked slowly towards her and smiled weakly. Libby's only response was a small disapproval shake of the head. _Yup, I'm dead._ She slumped on her seat next to Libby and looked at the front of the class_. Here we go..._

**End of Chapter 8**

**At long last! This chapter is now complete. Not as much action here I know, but I kind of wanted this chapter to mostly focus on their everyday school life. Just to kind of see where they are at right now. I promise more interesting things to come! Please be patient with me! And thank you for all the amazing reviews! I always appreciate it! Stay posted and review when you can! I'll be back very soon! **


	9. Classroom Conversation

**I know I have been gone for quite a while now and I do apoligize for that. I have been very busy with school for these past couple of months. Mostly becuase it's my senior year of highschool. Filling out college applications, applying for financial aid, making up credits, paying senior dues, work, attending tours for different colleges, writing essays for college grants, SAT testing, and mostly...just school work in general *sighs* Because of my constantly changing schedule, I have not been able to update this story as much as I would like to. I have also been experiencing a bit of a writer's block. Which has left me just staring blankly at my computer monitor whenever I have tried to complete this chapter.**

**After much debating, I have decided to post up Chapter 9 the way I had left it, in order to keep the story going. And I am sorry to say that this chapter is much shorter than anything else I have posted up. It mainly just focuses on the conversation between Cindy and Libby. But nothing else. What I will be posting on Chapter 10, (hopefully soon) is what I had originally planned to include in this chapter. But since I have not figured out the ending, (or had much time to work on it)I just decided to throw this one in. Nevertheless, I shall finish this story and I promise you, you will not be disappointed. Well...maybe. I like to add a few twists sometimes, and I know that bothers people sometimes. I really hope that all of you continue with this story and not let my constant absence stop you from enjoying it. Send me feedback! I will shut up now...Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Classroom Conversation

The time ticked away aimlessly for the first two minutes since the bell rang. The class was silent as they waited for their teacher to command them to do independent work, which was basically code for free time. Mr. Davis picked up on their antsy behavior and took his time to write down today's date on the board. His lips curling when he sees several students in the front roll their eyes as he erased the slashes between the dates in order to make the lines more straight. He didn't really care that hardly any of them ever took advantage of the free class time he gave them to do the work he has assigned to them. He'd rather be on the computer than teaching a class full of immature teenagers with the attention span of a squirrel. But at least for the first five minutes of class, it was always fun to watch them squirm in their seats as he 'got things started.'

As soon as he finished writing the date on the board, he turned to face the class. Several grim faces looked up at him hopefully. "Alright students," he clapped his hands together. "For today, just continue working on your questions on page #235. And don't forget to turn in your essays on how the Gilded Age impacted America. I'll be walking around shortly to pick up the essays and help you if you have any questions."

With that, the whole class began to roar with voices while Mr. Davis walked to his desk to take attendance. Only a few rows back, Libby took advantage of the time and slid her body to the side in order to face the desk next to her. Cindy avoided her gaze and busied herself by taking out her writing materials, and the essay she had stayed up late at night to finish. It was hard to avoid that glare at times. Those pair of eyes could literally burn through a person's soul. It made her feel uneasy.

Libby kept this up until she knew for sure Cindy was done taking out her things. "Alright girl, spill. What's going on?" Libby demanded with her arms crossed.

"What are you talking about?" Cindy asked innocently.

"Don't play stupid with me Cin. You know exactly what I'm talking about. What was all that with Brad right now? Yesterday you blabbed on for a half hour about how much you didn't like that jock and now I see you acting all ditsy and flirty with him by his locker?" Libby looked at her in disapproval. "Something is definitely up and I wanna know what and I wanna know why."

"Nothing is going on Libbs. I swear. I just...changed my mind is all." she said quietly looking down at the floor.

Her weak response only made Libby press the matter even further. "It's Jimmy isn't it?" She asked finally.

Cindy's eyes widened in disbelief. "What on Earth does_ Nerdtron_ have to do with any of this? Gosh! I changed my mind about Brad! That's it." Cindy yelled angrily. "Why do you always have to pester me about guys that I go out with?! It's nothing! Just a simple date to the movies! Can I have a moment to breathe without you questioning my every move?! I can have a life without having Neutron around ya know! The whole world doesn't revolve around him. But noooo, everyone always has to bring him up 24/7 because you all believe that we were somehow meant to 'be together and live happily ever after' and all that other crap! So please just let me be for once and don't judge how I decide to spend my time!" She slammed her hands on the table dramatically. Secretly hoping that her little outburst would be enough to get Libby off her back.

Libby only shook her head, not believing a single word she was saying._ So much for an acting career._ "If you're done making that little tantrum you like to throw to try to make me feel guilty like a spoiled teenage brat, I'd like to know the real reason now." Libby said calmly.

Cindy only sighed and put her head in her hands. "It's nothing to do with Nerdtron okay? Can you please just drop it?"

"Cin, I can't just not talk about this. Whenever it comes to Neutron, you know I have to interfere. You tend to make some pretty dumb moves when you're angry with him-"

"- I do not!" Cindy interjected offensively. Libby lowered her head and gave Cindy a knowing look.

"Girl c'mon, let's be real here. You always go overboard when it comes to him. Did you forget the time that you betrayed us to Eustace? All just to make Jimmy jealous? Like really, you already have a record Cin."

"That was different!" Cindy objected. "First of all, Eustace promised to make me filthy rich once he got to the energy source and second, he said he wasn't gonna hurt any of you. (pause) Which I know doesn't make up for what I did, but it was a long time ago already! _And_ it had nothing to do with making Neutron jealous."

"Is that so? Because I specifically remember you blaming Jimmy for what happened after Eustace tricked you. All because he was ignoring you the whole time we were there and how at least Eustace treated you like an equal." Libby crossed her arms with a satisfied smile. "Sounds to me like you were in it for the attention."

Her heart raced at the memory. That tingling feeling she felt upon hearing Jimmy finally confess to her and to everyone that she distracted him...sometimes. She smiled inwardly."Okay fine! So maybe I wanted to mess with the dork," Cindy grumbled. "But I was mostly in it for the money!" she stated a little too quickly.

"Sure you were..." Libby said sarcastically. "But I still think it was wrong to deliberately flirt with Brad in front of Jimmy like that."

"Oh please," Cindy waved off the comment. "It's not even that big of a deal. It was just some harmless flirting. Nothing more. I just wanted to have a little fun if you don't mind."

"It may not seem like a big deal to _you_, but I think you did more damage than you think." Libby explained.

She lifted her head up. "What do you mean?"

"Well not only is Brad a creep who tries to get into every girls panties, incase you forgot about those rumors that were going around about what he tried to do to Casey while they were out bowling last year," she added. "but I think you seriously pissed Jimmy off. Like** 'big time' **pissed off. As in, he's going to kill Brad." she warned.

"Well Brad, I can handle. Incase you forgot, (motions to herself) black belt martial arts master. (Libby rolles her eyes). Besides I honestly doubt that the rumors are even true. Casey _is_ somewhat of a drama queen. She'll say anything to get people's attention." she paused for a moment before smirking. "And if me having a date with Brad bothers the little dweeb that much...well then that's just a bonus."

"Yeah I kind of figured that's what you were going for." Libby responded in annoyance. "What I want to know is what made you wanna torture Neutron like that. The boy was only physically ill a few hours ago and that's what you wanna do on his first day back?"

"Okay first of all, he was not physically ill." Cindy objected.

Libby put her hands on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So what do you call someone who wakes up the morning after a giant wolf attack looking like a damm zombie apocalypse, throwing up out of nowhere, then passing out, and staying asleep for the next few hours after that? Hmmm?"

Cindy jogged the thought in her head before finally slouching her shoulders. "Okay fine, maybe he was a _little_ sick."

"My point exactly." Libby said. "So what's making you do this?"

Cindy looked her bestfriend in the eyes and then back at her shoes. There was no getting out of this jam. And if she was honest with herself, maybe it was better to tell her. After all, they were bestfriends. If there is anyone that she could talk about these things to, it was Libby.

"Neutron was acting like a jerk first period." she said finally. "I don't know how he overheard me, but he found out about Brad asking me out when I was telling Nissa about it. I don't know Libby, we were totally fine before that, but after he found out, his whole attitude just completely changed. And..I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine." Cindy admitted. "He rudely said, and I quote 'date a tiny brained human being who can't even count to five for all I care,' end of quote." she finished off.

"...Well in all honesty, the boy really_ can't_ count up to five." Libby added.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "That's not the point." Although she couldn't really disagree on that last statement either. "Neutron told me to date Brad and that he didn't care, so I'm just giving him what he wants." she smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh really?" Libby asked. "And how is that working out?"

Cindy avoided Libby's gaze and looked at the front of the class room. She thought deeply about Libby's question and realized that whatever she was trying to tell her, was true. If she did think about it, she really didn't win anything at all. She had a date with a basketball player (a sport that she hates) who can't solve a math problem to save his life, and just when she thought that her and Jimmy were finally starting to get along, at least just a tiny bit, they end up taking a giant step back. Not much of a win once she broke it down. But even so, it somewhat felt good to see him angry like that.

"Alright alright! Maybe I went a little too far. But that prick had it coming!" Cindy admitted. "Just once, I wanted him to feel the way I felt whenever he was flirting with some bimbo in the hallway. At least for him to feel the tiniest bit of anger would be enough. I mean c'mon, he's done a lot more than flirting than I have, don't you think it makes us kind of even?"

Libby sighed and shook her head in disapproval. "Look, all I'm saying is, if you want things between you and Jimmy to change, you gotta put in your full effort. It's not gonna be easy. Knowing how stubborn and stupid the two of you are, (avoids Cindy's offended look) it most definitely won't be easy. But in time, you'll get through it. And that means that you have to stop trying to get back at him. If ya'll keep provoking eachother, you're just gonna end up back to square one, where you've always been since the third grade." Libby explained. "So get to it and cancel that date with Brad."

"Libby I can't just dump Brad." Cindy said.

"Why not? You already dumped the boy once. What difference does it make if you do it again?" Libby asked.

"Yeah I know, but that's exactly why I can't leave him hanging a second time. Especially after flirting with him in the hallway and telling him that it was a mistake to reject him." Cindy argued. "Look, how about I just go to the movies with him as friends? And I'll make sure not to rub it in Nerdtron's face anymore. How's about that? Will that keep you happy?" Cindy asked sarcastically.

"Yes. It most definitely will." Libby responded sweetly. "Just try not to do anything stupid for the rest of the day and we'll be good."

"Aye aye sir." Cindy glumly solluted with her hand to her forehead.

Libby smiled and shook her head. "That's the spirit soldier."

"Yeah yeah yeah." Cindy rolled her eyes and opened her textbook...

**Read and Review! Show the love! I'm hard at work on Chapter 10! I promise, this is where the fun starts! I'll be back soon! **


	10. Please Excuse My Absence

Authors Note:

Wow it really has been such a long time since I added anything to this story. Hard to believe it's been more than a year already. To anyone who has been following this story, I apologize for being absent for such a long time. Things have been pretty hectic these past few months. And now that I've actually had a moment to stop and breathe, I'd like to explain myself. Well, for starters, I've finally graduated highschool and currently attending my third semester of college. I've also recently become a dad to an awesome baby boy. That alone has been filling up my already busy schedule *sighs* And unfortunately, this special moment sadly came with a very unexpected personal loss for myself and also my son. These past few months have been very tough. Dealing with personal issues, school, work,-and oh yeah- taking care of a five month old on my own. It's been more than a long time since I've gotten a chance to actually sit down and write about anything that isn't homework.

As much as I love this story and really wish to continue writing it (I'm not one that enjoys not finishing things I've started), the place where I'm at in my life right now requires my entire focus and devotion. So I am sorry to announce that I won't be adding any new chapters any time soon. I don't want to say that this story will forever remain unfinished, but it will most likely be a long time before I get into the swing of things. I apologize once again and wish you all the best. I will try to be back with new chapters for this story (hopefully) in a very near future. Have a great day!


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